UC-NRLF 


B    3    32S    117 


■  Done  like  a  man,  by  jove :"  exclaimed  the  leader  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  extending  his  hand.— Page  193. 


THE  GREEN     4     *# 
^   flOUNTAIN  BOYS 

A  HISTORICAL  TALE  OF  THE  EARLY 
SETTLEMENT  OF  VERMONT 

By  JUDGE  D.  P.  THOMPSON 


"  Tis  a  rough  land  of  rock,  and  stone,  and  tree, 
Where  breathes  no  castled  lord,  nor  cabin'd  slavec 
Where  thoughts,  and  hands,  and  tongues  are  free, 
And  friend*  will  find  a  welcome — foes  a  grave." 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY,      ^        *        * 
*    +     *     PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


INSCRIBED   TO   THE 

HONORABLE  HEMAN  ALLEN, 
Late  U.  S.  Minister  to  Chill 


TO     NO     ONE     CAN     THIS    WORK     BE     MORE     APPROPRIATELY     DEDICATED 

THAN  TO  THE  DISTINGUISHED  SON 

OF     ONE    OF     THAT 
INTELLIGENT,     ENTERPRISING     AND     FEARLESS     BAND     OF     BROTHERS 

THE  ALLENS, 

TO     WHOSE     ENERGETIC     CHARACTERS     AND      VARIED     SERVICES, 

VERMONT  IS    SO    DEEPLY    INDEBTED 

FOR       HER      EXISTENCE       AS      AN       INDEPENDENT      STATE 
AND    FOR     THE 

FOUNDATION  OF  HER  PRESENT   PROSPERITY, 


PREFACE, 


The  following  pages  are  intended  to  embody  and  illus- 
trate a  portion  of  the  more  romantic  incidents  which, 
actually  occurred  in  the  early  settlements  of  Vermont, 
with  the  use  of  but  little  more  fiction,  than  was  deemed 
sufficient  to  weave  them  together,  and  impart  to  the 
tissue  a  connected  interest.  In  doing  this,  the  author 
has  ventured,  for  the  sake  of  more  unity  of  design,  upon 
one  or  two  anachronisms;  or,  in  other  words,  he  has 
brought  together,  or  nearly  so,  some  incidents  connected 
with  the  portions  of  the  two  different  periods  embraced 
in  the  work,  viz.,  the  New  York  controversy  and  the 
Revolution — which  occurred  at  intervals.  Other  than 
this,  he  is  sensible  of  no  violations  of  historical  truth. 
Without  consulting,  as  perhaps  he  should,  the  models  to 
be  found  in  the  works  of  approved  writers  in  this  de- 
partment of  literature,  he  has  endeavored  to  give  a  true 
delineation  of  the  manners  and  feelings  of  those  among 
whom  the  scene  is  laid,  together  with  the  deeds  and 
characters  of  some  of  the  leading  actors  in  the  events  he 
has  attempted  to  describe,  as  gathered  from  the  imper- 
fect published  histories  of  the  times,  from  the  private 
papers  to  which  he  has  had  access,  and  more  particularly 
from  the  lips  of  the  few  aged  relics  of  that  period  who 
actively  participated  in  the  wild  and  stirring  scenes 
which  peculiarly  marked  the  settlement  of  this  part  of 
the  country.  How  far  he  has  succeeded  in  the  attempt 
It  is  for  the  public,  not  for  him,  to  decide. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Montpelier,  March,  1839 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY& 


CHAPTER  I. 


"And  now  for  scenes  where  nature  in  her  pride 
Roar'd   in  rough  floods,  and  wav'd  in  forests  wida— 
Where   men  were   taught  the  desert  path  to  trace, 
And   the  rude   pleasures   of  the  mountain   chase — 
With   light   canoe    to   plough   the  glassy   lake. 
And   from   its    depths  the    silvery   trout   to   take — 
Where  nerves  of  iron  grew,  and  souls  of  tone 
To  soft  refinement's  tranquil   scenes  unknown." 


Those  who  have  wandered  along  the  banks  of  the  Otter 
Creek,  in  search  of  the  beautiful  and  picturesque,  may 
have  extended  their  rambles,  perhaps,  to  Lake  Dunmore, 
which  lies  embosomed  among  the  hills  a  few  miles  to  the 
eastward  of  that  quiet  stream.  If  so,  their  taste  for  nat- 
ural scenery  has  doubtless  been  amply  gratified;  for  there 
is  no  spot  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Green  Mountains 
that  combines  more  of  the  requisites  for  a  perfect  land- 
scape than  this  romantic  sheet  of  water  and  its  surround- 
ing shores.  Of  an  oblong  form,  about  four  miles  in 
length  and  one  in  breadth,  this  lake,  or  pond,  as  such 
bodies  of  water  are  more  usually  denominated  among  us, 
lies  extended  between  the  main  ridge  and  a  collateral 
eminence  on  the  west,  of  a  height  but  little  more  than 
sufficient  to  serve  as  a  secure  embankment  to  this  noble 
reservoir  of  the  hills.  From  the  eastern  shore  the  land 
rises  abruptly  into  a  lofty  mountain,  which,  like  some 
mighty  giantess,  sits  enthroned  in  the  mid  heavens,  her 
head  turbaned  with  a  wreath  of  white  mist,  and  looking 
down  with  seeming  fondness  and  care  upon  the  bright 
daughter,  that  reflecting  back  her  own  rude  image,   lies 


6        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

quietly  reposing  in  her  lap,  receiving  the  rich  supply  of  a 
thousand  pearly  rills  that  come  gushing  to  her  opening 
lips.  To  the  north  and  south  open  long  and  beautiful 
vistas,  extending  along  over  the  bright  extremeties  of  the 
lake,  and  terminating  among  the '  far-off  peaks  of  the 
Green  Mountains;  while  from  the  western  shore  the  land, 
after  a  gentle  rise  for  a  short  distance,  falls  off  rapidly 
toward  the  Otter,  leaving  the  broad  and  extensive  valley 
of  that  stream  open  to  the  vision,  which  now  wanders 
unobstructed  to  the  western  borders  of  the  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  where  the  long  chain  of  mountains  that  rise  im- 
mediately beyond,  lies  sleeping  in  the  blue  distance,  and 
bounds  the  view  of  this  magnificent  scene. 

It  was  near  sunset,  on  one  of  the  last  days  in  April,  and 
in  the  same  year  and  month  as  were  marked  by  the  open- 
ing scene  of  our  great  national  drama,  that  four  stout  and 
hardy  looking  men,  two  of  them  of  about  the  middle  age, 
and  two  considerably  younger,  were  seen  occupying  a 
large  log  canoe  near  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake  just 
described,  and  engaged  fishing  for  trout.  Their  success 
through  the  day  in  ensnaring  "the  pride  of  the  pure 
waters,"  as  the  trout  has  been  appropriately  termed,  had 
been  ample,  as  was  evinced  by  the  large  strings  of  this 
beautiful  fish  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat  beneath  the 
feet  of  their  respective  captors  Now,  however,  as  the 
rapidly  lengthening  shadows  of  the  dark  primeval  forest, 
that  thickly  lined  the  shore,  had  nearly  closed  over  the 
lake,  the  party  began  to  manifest  a  disposition  to  relin- 
quish the  exciting  labors  of  the  day.  One  sat  listless  and 
unemployed  in  his  seat;  another  was  taking  in  and  wind- 
ing up  his  line;  while  the  third  had  handled  the  oars, 
and  sat  patiently  awaiting  the  movements  of  the  fourth, 
who  seemed  intent  on  securing,  before  quitting  the  sta- 
tion, one  more  victim,  as  "a  most  severe  large  one,"  he 
said,  was  brushing  round  his  hook.  At  length  the 
speckled  tantalizer,  after  playing  warily  round  the  bait 
awhile,  seized  it  with  a  desperation  that  seemed  to  imply 
at  once  his  suspicions  and  his  determination  to  test  them, 
and  was  drawn  flapping  and  floundering  into  the  boat, 
amidst  a  shout  of  exultation  from  the  company,  who 
unanimously  declared  the  fish  to  be  a  ten-pounder, 
and    the    capital    prize    of    all    that   bad    that    day    been 


THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8.  7 

taken.  All  being  now  in  readiness,  the  boat  was 
rowed  slowly  toward  the  shore  in  the  direction  of  a  spot 
indicated  as  the  place  of  their  temporary  quarters  by  a 
slight,  wreathy  line  of  blue  smoke,  which  had  risen  from 
their  boon  fires,  and  still  hung  undissipated  along  the 
precipitous  cliffs  of  the  mountain  above.  On  reaching 
the  shore  the  party,  after  taking  out  their  fish  and  care- 
fully concealing  their  canoe  in  a  thick  clump  of  over- 
hanging bushes,  proceeded  to  their  retreat,  which  proved 
to  be  a  cavern  in  the  rocks,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
here  shutting  down  within  a  dozen  rods  of  the  lake.  The 
front  of  this  cave  consisted  of  a  sort  of  natural  porch, 
eight  or  ten  feet  in  length,  and  of,  perhaps,  about  half 
that  number  of  feet  in  width,  formed  by  a  projection  of 
the  rocks  above  and  on  each  side,  so  as  to  enclose  the 
intervening  space.  From  the  centre  of  the  area  thus 
formed  in  front,  an  entrance,  wide  enough  only  to  admit 
one  person  at  a  time,  opened  into  the  interior,  or  main 
part  of  the  cavern,  a  spacious  and  lofty  room  branching 
off  in  several  dark  recesses  that  appeared  to  extend  far 
into  the  rocks.  This  cave  had  once  been  a  favorite  lodge 
with  the  Indians,  as  was  evident  from  the  flint  arrow- 
heads, and  other  indications  of  aboriginal  life,  discovered 
in  and  about  the  place ;  and  in  late  years  it  had  been  the 
usual  resort  of  professional  hunters,  and  others  of  the 
neighboring  settlement,  when  out  for  more  than  one  day 
on  "fishing  and  hunting  excursions  on  the  lake  or  its 
vicinity,  as  it  afforded  them  comfortable  quarters  for  the 
night,  and  such  as  could  easily  be  secured  from  the  in- 
trusion of  wild  beasts,  or  Indians,  small  parties  of  whom 
though  not  generally  very  hostile  at  this  period,  were  still 
occasionally  seen  skulking  among  these  mountains.  The 
party  now  present,  as  before  remarked,  were  four  in 
number.  The  two  eldest  of  these  had  nothing  remark, 
able  in  their  appearance  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
ordinary  run  of  men,  except  their  broad  chests  and  strong 
muscular  limbs,  which  they  possessed  in  common  with 
most  of  the  settlers.  Of  the  other  two,  whom  we  will 
more  particularly  describe,  one  was  a  young  woodsman 
of  very  singular  and  striking  appearance.  He  was  full 
seven  feet  high,  and  as  straight  as  an  arrow.  From  his 
trunk,  which,  though  strongly  made,  and  quite  as  large 


8  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  JBOT& 

as  that  of  a  common  stout  man,  looked  like  a  May-pei^ 
rose  a  long,  slender  neck,  surmounted  by  a  small  apple* 
shaped  head.  His  features  might  have  been  regular  when 
he  slept,  but  in  conversation,  in  which  he  was  always 
sure  to  have  a  part,  they  were  made  to  play  such  antics, 
by  way  of  acting  as  gestures  to  the  queer  conceits  with 
which  his  brain  was  forever  teeming,  that  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  tell  what  any  one  of  them  might  have 
been  when  reduced  to  a  state  of  quiescence.  His  mouth 
with  a  peculiar  twist  seemed  to  move  at  will  in  a  half 
circle  from  one  ear  to  the  other ;  while  his  nose,  playing 
at  cross  purposes  with  his  mouth,  was  seemingly  wriggled 
up  to  the  eyebrows,  or  let  down  to  the  chin  at  the  option 
of  its  owner.  These,  with  the  eyes,  which  were  no  less 
singularly  expressive,  combined  to  form  a  countenance  to 
the  last  degree  comical,  though,  with  all  its  predominate 
ing  humor,  great  good-nature  and  considerable  native 
intelligence  were  very  visibly  mingled  in  its  expression. 
This  man  went  by  the  name  of  Pete  Jones,  or  long-legged 
Pete,  as  was  his  more  common  appellation  among  his 
companions.  The  other  person,  the  only  one  of  the  party 
now  remaining  to  be  described,  was  evidently  far  superior 
in  every  respect,  except  physical  powers,  to  the  rest  of 
the  company.  His  exterior  exhibited  a  high  degree  of 
manly  beauty,  both  in  form  and  feature,  while  a  fine  dark 
eye,  with  a  cleanly  turned,  rectilinear  nose,  and  a  high 
square  forehead,  indicated  tastes  of  an  intellectual 
character.  His  countenance  was  expressive  of  keen  per- 
ceptions, and  manifested  also,  like  that  of  the  person  last 
described,  a  strong  disposition  to  wit  and  mirthfulness ; 
though  his  disposition,  unlike  that  of  his  rude  companion, 
had  been  evidently  chastened  and  trained  by  education 
and  intercourse  with  refined  society,  the  advantages  of 
both  of  which  his  language  and  manners  showed  he  had 
received.  His  whole  appearance,  indeed,  was  such  as 
would  induce  to  the  probable  conclusion  that  a  romantio 
turn  of  mind,  with  a  love  of  the  exciting  scenes  of  the 
forests,  or  still  more  exciting  strife  in  which  the  settlers 
were  engaged  with  the  neighboring  colony,  had  led  him 
to  a  temporary  adoption  of  his  present  course  of  life,  and 
that  he  was  rather  an  amateur  woodsman  than  one  from 
habit  or  necessity. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  9 

When  the  party  reached  their  quarters,  the  person  whose 
description  last  occupied  us,  separated  himself  from  the 
rest,  and,  clambering  up  the  steep,  sat  down  on  a  com- 
manding cliff,  some  hundred  feet  above  the  cave,  leaving 
the  duties  of  the  camp  to  be  performed  by  those  who 
remained  below.  The  latter,  after  kindling  up  a  fire  in 
front  of  the  cave,  proceeded  to  bring  from  the  interior  a 
light,  portable  kettle,  and  piece  of  salt  junk,  articles  with 
which  such  parties  usually  went  provided,  and  soon 
became  busily  engaged  in  dressing  and  preparing  a  por- 
tion of  the  fruits  of  their  day's  labors  for  an  evening  repast. 

"Smith,"  said  the  tall  woodsman,  whose  peculiarities  we 
have  before  noted,  now  turning  to  one  of  his  comrades  as 
they  were  proceeding  with  their  culinary  labors;  "say 
Smith,  what  do  you  suppose  Mr.  Selden  has  perched  him- 
self on  that  old  crazy  crag  up  there  for?  He  looks  as 
glum  and  hazy  as  a  cat-owl  winking  at  the  sun  with  one 
eye  and  watching  a  tree  toad  with  the  other?" 

"Well  done  for  you,  Pete  Jones!"  responded  the  per- 
son addressed;  "I  rather  guess  you  have  hit  the  nail  on 
the  head  this  time;  for  Selden  I've  noticed  is  fond  of  look- 
ing at  prospects — scenery,  I  think  he  calls  it — well,  while 
he  has  an  eye  for  that,  it's  my  opinion  he  is  on  the  look- 
out for  mischief,  which  he  thinks  may  perhaps  be  brewing 
for  us  somewhere — what  say  you,  Brown?" 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  latter,  a  plain,  blunt, 
and  somewhat  dogged  looking  man;  "there  may  be  some- 
thing in  your  idea — and  come  to  think  of  it,  I  guess  it  is 
so:  You  know  we  caught  a  glimpse  or  two  of  a  fellow 
skulking  round  the  shore  over  yonder,  last  evening,  as 
we  were  coming  across  to  take  up  our  quarters  here;  and 
I  remember  that  Selden  seemed  to  watch  his  movements 
as  if  he  had  some  suspicions  that  the  fellow  might  be  a 
spy  on  us." 

"That's  it,"  joined  Smith;  "and  if  Selden  named  the 
affair  to  the  Captain  when  he  joined  us  last  night,  as  I'll 
warrant  you  he  did,  seeing  they  had  considerable  private 
talk  together,  most  likely  he  got  orders  to  keep  a  spare 
eye  for  breakers  to-day.  I  have  noticed  several  times 
this  afternoon  that  he  seemed  to  be  looking  round  the  lake 
rather  anxiously;  and  it  was  that  which  set  me  to  think- 
ing." 


|0  THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 

"  By  the  way,"  interposed  Jones  ;  «*  what  in  the  world 
can  have  got  the  Captain,  that  he  ain't  in  by  this  time  ? 
Not  a  single  loud  word  has  his  rifle  spoken  to-day  to  my 
hearing." 

"  He  has  doubtless  taken  a  wide  range  to-day,"  replied 
Smith,  who  assumed  to  be  the  best  guesser  of  the  trio  ; 
"  but  an  eye  as  keen,  and  an  aim  as  snre  as  the  young 
Captain's  never  need  be  exercised  a  whole  day  for  noth* 
ing  on  these  mountains.  He  don't  come  home  empty  to* 
night  you'll  find." 

"I  wish  he  would  come,  however,"  observed  Brown, 
"  I  am  anxious  to  know  what  are  to  be  the  orders  for  to- 
morrow. I  hope  he  won't  make  us  wait  here  another  day 
for  more  to  join  us  before  we  proceed  on  the  business  we 
came  for.  We  have  now  been  nearly  three  days,  coming 
and  here,  without  a  chance  of  setting  our  seals  to  the  back 
of  a  single  Yorker.  I  wouldn't  have  volunteered  and  left 
ray  work  at  this  busy  season  but  for  Captain  Warring- 
ton's promise  to  let  us  have  right  at  'em,  and  be  off  again. 
And  I  wouldn't  at  no  rate,  if  he  had  not  fought  so  like  a 
young  lion  for  me  at  the  time  these  land  sharks  turned 
us,  wife,  little  ones,  and  all,  out  into  the  snow.  He  did 
me  God's  service  at  that  time ;  so  I  thought  I  ought  to 
oblige  him  by  coming.  Though,  be  sure,  I  was  obliging 
my  own  feelings  about  as  much ;  for,  so  help  me  Heaven ! 
I  would  go  fourteen  miles  barefoot  in  January  for  a 
chance  to  pay  off  scores  upon  those  same  York  gentry." 

uSo  would  I,"  remarked  Smith;  "  for  what  was  your 
case  may  soon  be  mine,  unless  we  all  turn  out,  and  drive 
the  scoundrels  from  the  Grants  every  time  they  put  foot 
within  them.  So  we  must  not  grudge  a  little  time  spent 
in  paying  off  our  debts  in  this  manner,  seeing  we  shall  be 
doing  the  public  a  service  at  the  same  time.  Only  think 
of  Warrington !  He  has  spent  more  than  half  his  time 
in  this  way  for  the  last  three  years  ;  and  all  he  has  ever 
got  by  it  has  been  to  have  a  price  set  upon  his  head." 

"They  have  set  a  price  on  my  head  too,"  gloomily 
resumed  the  other ;  *  "  but  as  for  the  Captain,  he  will 

*  The  persons  outlawed  fcy  the  New  York  Assembly,  for  the  ap« 
prehension  of  whom  a  reward  of  fifty  pounds  for  each  was  offered? 
were  Ethan  Allen,  Seth  Warner,  Remember  Baker,  Rob't  Coch- 
ron,  P.  Sunderland,  S.  Brown,  J.  Smith,  and  J.  Brackenridge. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  11 

have  his  reward  in  heaven ;  while  they  have  made  me  so 
savage  and  murderous  in  my  feelings  that  I  begin  to  fear 
that  heaven  will  be  no  place  for  me." 

"Well,  I  owe  the  scamps  nothing  in  particular  myself, 
I  believe,"  observed  Jones;  "but  not  knowing  how  soon 
I  might,  seeing  as  how  I  had  lately  bought  a  new  lot  down 
there  near  Old  Ti,  I  thought  I  might  as  well  join  you  a 
spell  to  learn  the  way  and  manner  of  fixing  the  chaps. 
And  I  calculate  if  anybody  could  show  me  'twas  Captain 
Charley,  who  they  say  is  a  trifle  braver  than  Julius  Caesar, 
besides  having  a  heart  as  big  as  a  meeting-house." 

"What  would  you  say  of  Ethan  Allen  at  that  rate?"  asked 
Smith,  laughing. 

"Ethan  Allen?  Lordy!  why,  two  Alexanders,  with 
half  a  dozen  Turks  thrown  in  to  stiffen  the  upper  lip, 
would  be  used  up  in  making  the  priming  to  Ethan  Allen! 
But  hoo!  what  in  the  devil's  name  has  come  among  us  now?" 
continued  the  speaker,  pointing  to  a  new  figure  that  had 
arrived  unperceived,  and  noiselessly  taken  a  station  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  company. 

All  eyes  were  now  turned  to  the  spot  indicated  by  the 
words  and  odd  gesticulations  of  their  companion.  There 
stood  a  young  Indian,  quietly  looking  at  the  company,  or 
rather,  after  the  peculiarity  of  his  race,  looking  at  every- 
thing else  but  the  company,  the  moment  they  turned  and 
confronted  him.  He  held  a  rifle  in  his  hand,  while  his 
dress  differed  but  little  from  the  ordinary  garb  of  the 
settlers. 

"Umph!"  he  at  length  exclaimed  in  the  peculiar,  jerk- 
ing guttural  of  the  native  Indian;  "Massa  Cappen — him 
no  here!" 

"Guessed  exactly  right,  Tawney!"  cried  Jones,  awaken- 
ing from  the  momentary  surprise  into  which  he,  as  well 
as  his  companions,  had  been  thrown  by  the  unexpected 
appearance  of  such  a  visitor;  but  what  do  you  want  with 
the  Captain,  my  beauty?" 

"Umph!  you  ask;  when  me  tell,  then  you  know," 
quickly  replied  the  Indian,  with  the  apparent  object  both 
to  evade  the  question  and  retort  on  the  interrogator  for 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  put. 

"Right,  again!"  exclaimed  Smith,  pleased  at  the  rebuff 
thus  received  by  the  professed  joker  of  the  party;  "here, 


12  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS, 

Jones,  let  me  manage  him.  Where  did  you  leave  your 
company,  friend?"  he  continued,  addressing  the  native 
coaxingly — "I  conclude  there  are  more  of  your  people  some- 
where hereabouts?" 

"Umph!"  answered  the  native  with  a  sarcastic  smile; 
"Now  you  'fraid — scare — why  you  no  run?" 

"Righter  than  ever!"  shouted  Jones,  laughing  heartily 
in  turn  at  his  baffled  comrade,  who  had  fared  even  worse 
than  himself  in  the  recounter. 

Other  methods  were  then  taken  to  draw  from  the  Indian 
his  name  and  business,  but  without  the  least  success.  He 
either  stood  mute,  or  answered  with  such  odd  evasions, 
that  they  soon  gave  over  the  attempt,  and  called  to  Selden 
on  the  hill,  intimating  that  his  presence  was  needed  below. 
That  person,  who  proved  to  be  second  in  command  in  the 
expedition,  as  if  partly  apprised  of  what  was  going  on, 
immediately  came  down  and  appeared  among  them. 

"Leftenant  Selden,"  said  Jones,  "they  say  you  can 
make  poetry  out  of  rock*  and  trees,  if  you  are  a  mind  to 
— now  we  want  to  see  what  you  can  make  out  of  this 
fellow." 

"He  is  very  evidently  a  domesticated  Indian,"  seriously 
replied  the  person  addressed,  who  appeared  just  then  in 
no  humor  to  relish  the  jokes  of  the  other.  "He  probably 
resides  with  some  family  in  the  vicinity.  I  think  I  have 
heard  Warrington  speak  of  meeting  one  of  his  description 
in  a  hunting  adventure  in  this  quarter." 

"Well,  he  inquired  for  the  Captain,"  observed  Smith. 

"Then  he  has  some  business  with  him,  I  presume,"  re- 
joined Selden;  "some  friendly  message,  perhaps." 

"Umph!  that  man  say  it,"  said  the  subject  of  their 
discourse,  pointing  to  the  former  with  an  expressive  and 
respectful  look. 

"We  will  try  then  to  hasten  the  Captain's  return", 
observed  Selden,  and  taking  from  his  pocket  a  sort  of 
whistle,  formed  from  the  leg-bone  of  a  deer,  he  blew  a 
blast  whose  loud,  shrill  note  was  capable  of  being  heard 
at  a  great  distance. 

A  strict  silence  of  several  moments  was  now  observed 
by  the  whole  party  in  listening  for  a  reply  from  their 
leader,  who,  it  was  understood,  carried  about  him  a  cor- 
responding   instrument.      At   length,    instead    of    a    reply 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  13 

from  a  whistle,  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle  burst  from  a 
neighboring  glen,  and  echoing  wildly  from  cliff  to  cliff  in 
the  surrounding  stillness,  died  slowly  away  on  the  distant 
mountains. 

"There  he  is!"  "There  goes  the  Captain's  rifle — I 
should  know  her  voice  among  a  thousand,"  simultaneously 
burst  from  the  lips  of  several  of  the  company. 

"Just  as  I  told  you,"  said  Smith;  "I  knew  he  would 
never  return  empty.  That  shot,  mark  me,  brought  down 
a  deer,  which  he  had  in  his  eye  when  the  Leftenant  whistled, 
and  prevented  his  answering  the  call,  which  no  small  game 
would." 

The  event  soon  proved  the  truth  of  the  last  speaker's 
conjecture.  The  heavy,  slow  tread,  as  of  one  carrying 
some  weighty  load,  now  became  distinguishable  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  woods,  the  sounds  falling  more  and  more 
distinctly  on  the  ear  every  moment  as  they  approached 
the  spot  where  the  expectant  and  excited  party  stood, 
eagerly  straining  their  eyes  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of 
their  huntsman  leader.  At  length  he  emerged  from  the 
bushes,  bearing  a  noble  buck  upon  his  shoulders.  Advanc- 
ing amidst  the  congratulations  of  his  fellows,  he  came  up 
to  the  spot,  and,  with  the  air  of  one  relieved  from  a  heavy 
burden,  threw  down  his  prize  to  the  ground  before  them. 
Of  the  probable  age  of  twenty-six  or  eight,  he  was  a  man 
of  a  very  fine  and  even  majestic  appearance.  Though 
tall  and  muscular,  so  compactly  and  finely  set  were  his 
limbs,  that  his  contour  presented  nothing  to  the  eye  in  the 
least  disproportioned  or  ungainly.  His  features  seemed 
to  correspond  in  regularity  of  formation  to  the  rest  of  his 
person,  while  his  countenance  was  rather  of  the  cool  and 
deliberate  cast,  indicative,  however,  of  a  mild,  benevolent 
disposition,  as  well  as  a  sound,  reflecting  intellect.  Every 
development,  indeed,  whether  of  his  shapely  head  or 
manly  countenance,  went  to  show  a  strong,  well-balanced 
character,  and  one  capable  of  action  beyond  the  scope  of 
ordinary  men.  His  dress,  which  was  that  of  a  huntsman, 
was  neat — not  rich — but  tastefully  arranged  and  well 
fitted.  A  mahogany-stocked  rifle,  richly  chased  with 
silver,  with  small  arms  partially  concealed  in  his  dress, 
completed  his  equipments. 

"Heaven  save  me  from  another  such  jaunt/'  were  his 


14  TEE  QUEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

first  words  after  he  had  thrown  down  his  load  and  ra 
covered  himself  a  little;  "a  noole  buck,  indeed,  but  the 
chase  has  been  rather  a  dear  one." 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  could  well  have  been  otherwise,  Cap- 
tain,''' observed  Selden,  now  evidently  in  high  spirits  and 
disposed  for  a  little  merriment — 

"  Your  huntsmen,  whenever  a  dear  's  in  the  race, 
Like  your  lovers,  of  course,  must  expect  a  dear  chase.*' 

"  Mine  has  been  somewhat  dearer,  however,  I  think,*1 
replied  the  former  with  an  appreciating  smile,  "than  was 
necessary  to  give  zest  to  those  savory  trout,  which,  by  the 
way,  I  am  right  glad  to  see  so  nearly  ready  for  the  par- 
taking." 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  other,  glancing  around  at  the 
Indian,  who  stood  demure  and  silent  in  the  background, 
with  his  face  partly  averted  from  the  company,  "  and  yet 
I  know  not,  really,  Captain  Warrington,  but  you  may 
have  other  fish  to  fry  .first." 

"  And  just  about  the  oddest  fish  too  that  we  have  caught 
to-day,  Captain,"  said  Jones,  instantly  understanding  the 
allusion  of  the  last  speaker;  "  I  rather  think  he  must  be 
a  sort  of  shellfish,  from  the  difficulty  we  found  in  getting 
his  mouth  open." 

"  Oho ! "  exclaimed  Warrington,  his  eye  now  for  the 
first  time  resting  on  the  form  of  the  Indian,  and  his  coun- 
tenance clearing  up  from  the  puzzled  expression  that  had 
come  over  it  for  the  instant  at  the  enigmatical  words  of 
his  friends;  "a  new  recruit !  that  explains  your  call,  the 
wherefore  I  was  about  to  ask — a  new  recruit  of  doubtful 
credentials,  eh?" 

So  saying,  he  advanced  to  the  side  of  the  Indian  youth 
and  attentively  examined  his  features ;  while  the  object 
<  if  scrutiny  stood  perfectly  immovable,  and  apparently  un- 
conscious of  the  examination  he  was  undergoing,  till  per- 
ceiving by  the  hesitation  of  the  other  that  he  was  not 
likely  to  be  recognized,  he,  without  looking  up,  or  vary- 
ing the  expression  of  a  single  muscle  of  his  face,  quietly 
observed, 

"Massa  Cappen  no  remember  Neshobee — no  remember 
shoot  three  wolf." 

"Aha?"  said  the  other,  recalled  by  the  last  allusion j 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYti.  15 

"the  same  poor  fellow  that  I  so  providentially  eame  across, 
and  relieved  from  that  savage  pack  of  wolves  last  year,  on 
these  very  mountains?  You  may  well  remember  that 
escape,  my  friend.     But  it  is  strange  1  did  not  know  you." 

"Neshobee  hunt  all  day,"  resumed  the  Indian,  intent 
on  rehearsing  the  event,  the  remembrance  of  which  seemed 
to  light  up  his  countenance  to  something  like  the  indica- 
tions of  feeling,  and  incline  him  to  unusual  loquacity ; 
"  hunt,  hunt — kill  no  deer — dark  come  fast.  Now  here 
wolf  'way  out  there,  howl !  howl !  Now  'way  out  here, 
howl !  howl !  Now  urn  come  together,  howl !  howl !  Now 
near  off,  howl !  howl !  Now  me  know  what  um  want,  and 
climb  small  tree  quick.  Wolf  come,  five,  six,  hungry,  and 
lap  um  mouth.  Me  shoot;  kill  one,  and  go  to  load  um 
up  again — so  no  think  nothing,  and  drop  um  rifle  low 
down — wolf  jump  high,  catch  um  away — now  rifle  all 
gone — no  get  um — wolf  get  mad  fast — bite  um  tree,  gnaw, 
gnaw,  wolf  no  do  so  'fore.  Now  tree  begin  shake,  shake 
to  fall  soon.  Now  bend,  bend,  slow  'long  down — wolf 
jump,  jump,  snap  um  white  teeth,  and  'most  jest  catch 
um  Neshobee.  Nowhoo!  bang!  one  wolf  kick  over  dead 
■ — Cappen  out  there  in  the  bush.  Shoot  again,  two  dead ! 
Shoot  again,  three  dead  !  Now  the  rest  two  wolf  begin  to 
mistrust  to  run  away  afore  they  dead  two.  Now  Nesho- 
bee come  down — stay  all  night  in  cave  withum  Cappen— 
him  very  good,  no  forget  um." 

"Very  nearly  correct,  I  believe,  Neshobee,"  observed 
Warrington,  as  the  Indian  closed  his  recital,  the  longest, 
perhaps,  he  ever  made  in  his  life,  for  unluckily,  it  may  be, 
for  the  romance  of  our  tale,  Neshobee  was  no  Logan  or 
Red  Jcket,  either  in  length  of  speech,  or  that  peculiar 
eloquence,  which  most  of  our  writers  seem  to  delight  in 
attributing  to  the  sons  of  the  forest ;  "  very  nearly  cor- 
rect, but  are  you  out  on  another  hunt  in  this  quarter,  or 
does  other  business  bring  you  here  at  this  time?" 

"No  much  hunt,  me  come  for." 

"What  then?" 

"  Missus  Story  talk  um  on  papar  for  Cappen  better  nor 
Neshobee  say,"  replied  the  Indian,  handing  Warrington  a 
small  dingy  scrap  of  paper. 

The  latter,  after  running  hastily  over  the  contents  of  the 
billet,  which  caused  his  eye  to  kindle  with  enthusiasm  as 


16  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

he  read,  immediately  turned  to  the  company,  and,  with  8 
cheerful,  animated  air  observed,  "  It  is  from  our  friend. 
Widow  Story,  of  the  Creek  down  here,  and  contains  news 
of  interest,  my  boys — shall  I  read  it  to  you  ?  " 

"  Aye,  aye,  Captain,"  was  the  eager  response. 

"  Listen  then." 

"Capt.  W. — I  tear  out  the  blank  leaf  of  my  Bible  to 
say,  '  the  Philistines  be  upon  thee,  Samson.''  They  came 
over  the  Creek  somewhere  north  of  here,  and,  after  a  short 
consultation  near  the  edge  of  my  clearing,  from  which  I 
luckily  espied  them,  struck  off  towards  the  lake.  Munroe, 
as  usuai,  heads  the  party,  ten  in  number,  as  I  counted. 
There  are  five  of  you,  at  least ;  and  that  is  enough,  if  you 
are  of  the  stuff  I  think  you,  to  attend  to  confirming  our 
titles  in  this  neighborhood.  My  messenger  is  a  chance 
one,  but  true  and  friendly,  and  may  be  enlisted,  I  think, 
for  the  night's  work,  if  needed. 

'♦God  speed  you  all, 

"Ann  Story." 

The  spirited  epistle  was  received  by  the  company  with 
a  loud  "  hurra  for  the  widow ! "  and  notwithstanding  it 
brought  them  the  startling  intelligence  that  the  sheriff  of 
Albany  county,  with  an  armed  force  of  twice  their  own 
number,  was  on  the  march  to  seize  them,  two  of  whom, 
at  least,  were  known  to  be  under  sentence  of  outlawry 
for  former  resistance  to  the  New  York  authorities,  while 
attempting  to  execute  their  cruel  mandates  on  the  per- 
sons or  property  of  the  settlers — notwithstanding  this, 
the  news  was  received  with  the  liveliest  expressions  of 
joy  and  enthusiasm.  An  escape  from  their  pursuers  into 
the  forest,  or  on  to  the  water  in  their  canoe,  which  was 
vhe  only  one  in  the  lake,  they  well  knew  might  easily  be 
effected.  But  this  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  this  resolute 
little  band  of  Green  Mountain  Boys ;  nor  was  the  pos- 
sibility of  their  being  overpowered  and  taken  deemed  by 
them  scarce  more  worthy  of  their  consideration.  Their 
object  was  the  punishment  of  their  foes,  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  which  this  was  hailed  by  them  all  as  a  golden 
opportunity.  From  the  unwonted  boldness  with  which 
this  noted  troubler  of  the  Grants  was  attempting  to  push 


-'  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  17 

so  far  into  the  interior  with  so  small  a  number  of  men,  all 
of  whom  were  supposed  to  be  unacquainted  with  the  forest 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  it  was  rightly  conjectured 
that  he  must  have  been  apprised  by  some  traitorous  set- 
tler; not  only  of  the  exact  situation  of  the  present  ren- 
dezvous, but  also  of  the  number  of  those  occupying  it; 
and  for  similar  reasons  it  was  concluded  that  this  person 
must  now  be  with  the  approaching  enemy,  acting  as  guide 
in  conducting  them  to  the  spot,  where  they  doubtless 
anticipated  taking  their  intended  victims  by  complete 
surprise,  and  then  hurrying  them  by  night  over  the  coun- 
try to  the  British  fort  at  Ticonderoga,  before  the  settlers 
could  be  rallied  for  a  rescue.  In  this  opinion  our  band 
were  confirmed  by  the  suspicious  appearance  of  a  man, 
who,  as  we  intimated,  had  been  seen  the  evening  before 
lurking  round  the  shores  of  the  lake,  and  who,  it  was  now 
scarcely  longer  to  be  doubted,  was  a  spy,  dogging  them 
to  such  place  as  they  might  select  for  their  encampment. 
Xext  to  the  sheriff,  therefore,  and  even  before  him,  was 
this  person,  whose  offence  was  considered  the  most  hei- 
nous of  the  two,  particularly  marked  for  punishment,  and 
it  was  determined  to  identify  and  seize  him,  if  possible, 
and,  whoever  he  might  prove,  make  him  an  example  to 
all  future  traitors.  To  retain  their  stronghold,  the  cavern, 
however  defensible  it  might  be,  was  no  object  with  our 
party,  as  their  leader  had  already  determined  to  leave  it 
the  following  morning  to  proceed  on  the  main  purpose  of 
their  excursion,  which  was  to  break  up  an  establishment 
of  their  opponents,  who  had  obtained  a  strong  foothold  at 
the  lower  falls  of  Otter  Creek,  and  to  seize  a  York  sur- 
veyor, locating  lands  in  that  vicinity — from  which  pur- 
pose they  bad  only  turned  aside  for  a  day  or  two  to  give 
others  an  opportunity  to  join  them  on  the  lake,  the  ap- 
pointed rendezvous,  and  a  pleasant  spot  for  employing 
the  interim  in  fishing  and  hunting.  Accordingly  it  was 
soon  concluded  to  make  no  regular  defence  of  the  cave, 
but,  using  it  only  so  far  as  might  best  favor  them  in  their 
object  of  discomfiting  the  enemy,  the  modes  of  doing 
which  were  yet  to  be  devised,  leave  it  to  their  possession, 
and  quit  the  place  that  night.  Their  game  and  such 
movables  as  were  not  immediately  wanted,  were  there- 
fore now  transferred  to  the  boat,  which  was  removed  to 

3 


18  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

a  secret  landing,  where  the  party  were  ordered  to  repair 
at  the  signal-call  of  the  whistle.  These  brief  arrange- 
ments having  been  completed,  and  the  young  Indian,  who 
seemed  to  enter  with  great  spirit  into  the  enterprise,  be- 
ing employed  to  stand  on  the  look-out,  the  company,  with 
their  loaded  rifles  by  their  side,  sat  down  to  their  sylvan 
meal,  over  which  they  discussed  in  gleeful  mood,  the 
various  and  ingenious  methods  which  were  successively 
proposed  for  the  reception  and  chastisement  of  their  as- 
sailants, who  were  expected  to  make  their  appearance  as 
soon  as  it  was  fairly  dark. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  Thus,  spite  of  prayers,  her  schemes  pursuing, 
She  went  on  still  to  work  our  ruin  ; 
AnnuTd  our  charters  of  releases, 
And  tore  our  title-deeds  to  pieces ; 
Then  signed  her  warrants  of  ejection, 
And  gallows  raised  to  stretch  our  necks  on 
And  straightway  sent,  like  dogs  to  bait  us, 
Mtjnroe,  with  2wsse  comitatus." 

Leaving  our  little  band  of  Green  Mountain  Boys  to  dis- 
cuss and  settle  the  manner  of  receiving  their  expected 
visitors,  and  to  make  their  dispositions  for  carrying  such 
plan,  as  should  be  finally  adopted,  into  effect,  we  will  now 
change  the  scene  a  little,  and  introducing  the  reader  to 
those  visitors  themselves,  accompany  him  and  them  to 
the  scene  of  action. 

In  a  thickly  wooded  swamp,  near  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  lake  before  described,  were  assembled  a  group  of 
ten  men,  awaiting  the  approach  of  darkness,  which  was 
already  beginning  to  settle  in  successive  and  fast  increas- 
ing shades  upon  the  low  lands  and  glens  along  the  foot  of 
the  mountain.  They  were  all  armed,  though  variously — 
some  having  muskets,  some  large  pistols,  and  some  only 
oaken  cudgels.  Apart  from  the  rest  stood  their  leader,  a 
stern,  rough  looking  personage,  engaged  in  a  low,  earnest 
conversation  with  another  individual,  of  the  apparent  age 
of  twenty-five,  whose  dress  and  general  demeanor  seemed 
to  forbid  the  conclusion  that  he  was  either  a  common 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  11) 

follower,  or  one  in  any  command;  and  yet,  from  the 
interest  he  manifested  in  the  business  in  hand,  it  was 
evident  he  was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  expedi- 
tion. As  the  last  named  person  may  occupy  considerable 
space  in  our  tale,  we  will  pause  to  note  his  personal  ap- 
pearance more  particularly  :  he  was  of  about  the  middle 
height,  well  made,  though  of  rather  slight  proportions. 
His  features,  though  regular,  were  commonplace  and 
inexpressive,  with  the  exception  of  a  pair  of  small, 
twinkling,  black  eyes,  in  which  an  observant  spectator 
might  often  read  meaning  considerably  at  variance  with 
the  import  of  his  language,  his  plausible  manners,  and 
the  obsequious,  smirking  smile,  which  he  usually  assumed 
while  addressing  those  with  whom  he  had  a  point  to 
carry.  The  construction  of  his  head  seemed  to  be  some- 
what peculiar — his  forehead,  which  was  very  tall,  being 
nearly  in  the  shape  of  a  triangle,  with  the  base  resting 
on  the  eyebrows,  and  the  side  narrowing  to  an  apex  at 
the  hair  above,  while  his  head,  as  far  back  as  the  ears, 
swelling  upwards  into  large  protuberances,  might  be 
better  represented  by  a  triangle  reversed.  His  dress  was 
a  finer  texture  than  that  of  any  of  his  present  associates, 
or  that  ordinarily  worn  by  the  settlers,  and  his  wmole  ap- 
pearance, indeed,  denoted  some  connection  with  the  more 
wealthy  and  fashionable  classes  of  society. 

"You  say,  Sherwood,"  observed  the  former  of  the  two 
last  mentioned  persons,  at  that  part  of  their  dialogue 
which  it  concerns  us  to  repeat:  "you  say  that,  from  hav- 
ing been  yourself  at  this  cave,  you  know  all  the  surround- 
ing localities?" 

'.'  Exactly — just  as  I  described  to  you  when  I  reached 
you  last  night.  There  can  be  no  mistaking  the  place, 
rhey  are  still  there,  as  is  evident  from  the  smoke  which 
we  saw  rising  over  the  spot  just  now,  while  passing  the 
head  of  the  lake.  The  path  is  now  plain,  and  the  game 
sure,  without  farther  guidance ;  so  I  think,  as  I  began  to 
suggest  to  your  honor  a  few  minutes  ago,  that  you  may 
now  dispense  with  my  further  attendance.  If  I  should 
be  seen  by  any  of  their  party,  I  should  be  delicately 
situated  here  in  the  settlement." 

"  To  the  devil  with  your  delicacy !  Why,  man,  do  you 
think  I  am  going  on  in  the  dark,  stumbling  over  logs 


20  THE  GBEEZt  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

and  through  bogs,  without  a  guided  Even  you  are  none 
too  good  a  one  for  this  cursed  hole ;  but  such  as  you  are, 
in  the  king's  name  I  retain  you;  so  not  another  word 
about  quitting  ns  till  the  scoundrels  are  secured." 

"  I  am  certainly  aware,  Mr.  Munroe,  of  the  importance 
of  securing  this  Warrington,  so  great  a  disturber  ot  the 
public  peace,  but " 

"  Disturber !  doubly  damned  rebel !  Why,  no  man  in 
the  settlement  has  caused  me  so  much  trouble,  consider- 
ing his  audacious  assault  on  me,  and  all.  It  will  do  me 
more  good  to  see  him  hung  than  to  sit  at  the  king's 
banquet." 

"  O,  certainly — it  would  me;  and  I  would  by  all  means 
aid  you  even  to  the  capture,  if  your  honor's  well  known 
sagacity  and  bravery  on  such  occasions  did  not  render 
my  assistance  wholly  unnecessary." 

"  Well,  well,  Jake,"  replied  the  sheriff,  relaxing  a  little 
from  his  wonted  roughness  at  the  flattering  expressions 
of  the  other,  "suppose  I  am  all  that  you  say,  it  won't 
serve  me  in  finding  a  fox's  hole  in  these  woods  any  better 
than  the  instinct  of  any  country  booby,  nor  half  so  well. 
I  tell  you,  Sherwood,  you  must  conduct  us  to  the  place, 
at  least ;  for  we  shall  then  have  enough  to  do  to  take  the 
fellow,  and,  what  is  worse,  to  get  him  through  the  settle- 
ment to  Ticonderoga.  Why,  there  is  not  an  old  woman 
in  all  the  Grants  but  will  fight  for  the  scoundrel  as  if  he 
was  one  of  her  own  brats." 

«  O,  there  can  be  no  great  trouble,  the  surprise  will  be 
so  great ;  but  as  your  honor  desires  it,  1  will  go  so  far  as 
to  point  out  the  place,  on  condition  that  I  then  be  allowed 
to  keep  out  of  sight." 

"  Yes,  but  your  half  of  the  reward  for  taking  the  fellows, 
for  you  say  that  there  is  at  least  one  outlaw  besides  War- 
rington ;  you  won't  claim  all  that,  unless  you  help  us 
through  the  whole  affair,  will  you  ?  " 

"  irour  honor  forgets  that  I  was  only  to  conduct  you  so 
far  as  to  point  out  their  retreat." 

"  Have  it  your  own  way,  then — but  I  hate  to  see  a  fellow 
so  keen  on  the  chase,  and  then  become  so  devilish  prudent 
the  moment  he  approaches  the  game,"  grumbled  Munroe, 
turning  away  to  give  some  orders  to  his  men,  preparatory 
to  resuming  their  march 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  21 

It  having  now  become  sufficiently  dark  for  their  pur- 
pose, the  party  were  put  in  motion  for  the  prosecution 
of  their  enterprise.  And  after  striking  a  light,  and  pro- 
curing some  materials  for  torches  from  the  pine  knots 
gathered  in  the  surrounding  windfalls,  they  set  forward 
towards  the  place  of  their  destination,  then  about  a  mile 
distant.  Keeping  as  far  from  the  shore  of  the  lake  as 
the  nature  of  the  ground  would  permit,  lest  the  gleams 
of  their  light,  striking  across  the  water  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  cave,  should  betray  their  approach,  they  pursued 
their  way  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain  with  all  possible 
silence  and  caution  ;  while  the  glare  of  their  torches,  glit- 
tering on  the  points  of  the  crags,  and  thrown  back  on  to 
the  dark  forms,  and  eager  and  flushed  visages  of  the 
party,  gliding  stealthily  along  in  Indian  file  beneath  the 
overhanging  cliffs,  like  tigers  for  their  prey,  gave  them 
a  singularly  wild  and  most  unearthly  appearance.  At 
length  they  arrived  at  the  sharp  knoll,  which,  running 
down  from  the  main  ridge  above  the  water,  had  so  far 
screened  their  approach,  and  enabled  them  to  advance 
with  their  lights  unseen  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
the  cavern.  Here  they  made  a  brief  halt  to  arrange  their 
forces  for  the  onset.  As  soon  as  this  was  effected,  Mun- 
roe  and  Sherwood  crept  noiselessly  over  the  intervening 
rise,  followed  at  short  intervals  by  the  rest  of  the  party, 
with  the  exception  of  one  man  left  behind  in  charge  of 
the  torches.  Having  descended  to  the  level  beyond,  they 
again  paused  to  listen  and  reconnoitre  before  venturing 
any  farther.  All  was  dark  and  silent  before  them.  And 
concluding  that  their  intended  victims  had  retired  within 
the  cave  and  were,  probably,  by  this  time,  reposing  in 
unsuspecting  slumbers,  they  now  congratulated  them- 
selves on  a  certain  and  easy  conquest,  and,  with  freshened 
impulse,  once  more  began  to  move  briskly  forward ;  when 
the  loud  whoot  lohoo! — whoof  ichoo !  of  the  "dismal 
bird  of  night,"  or  of  something  strikingly  resembling  it 
in  note,  proceeding  from  some  point  above,  came  pealing 
through  the  darkness,  with  fearful  distinctness,  to  the  ears 
of  the  company.  All  gave  an  involuntary  start.  Even 
the  stout-hearted  Munroe,  for  the  instant,  could  scarcely 
avoid  quaking  at  the  strangely  dismal  notes  that  thus 
broke  from  utter  stillness  so  unexpectedly  upon  them. 


22         THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

The  next  moment,  however,  as  the  consciousness  of  the 
insignificant  cause  of  their  affright  came  over  them,  a 
half  stifled  giggling  ran  through  the  company ;  while 
their  leader  uttering  a  dry  "  umph  !  scared  at  a  dimmed 
owl ! "  motioned  Sherwood  to  proceed.  But  the  latter, 
more  accustomed  to  the  notes  of  the  supposed  animal, 
and  thinking  he  detected  something  not  quite  natural  in 
the  sounds  they  had  just  heard,  became  secretly  impressed 
with  the  fears  of  an  ambush,  and,  without  imparting  his 
suspicions,  he  hastily  pointed  out  to  the  sheriff  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  whose  dim  outlines  had  now  become  dis- 
cernible, and  instantly  returning  to  the  rear,  quickly  re- 
treated over  the  hill.  With  a  few  muttered  expressions 
of  contempt  at  the  flight  of  the  wary  and  timid  guide, 
Munroe  once  more  set  forward  with  the  determined  mo- 
tions of  one  who  is  resolved  not  again  to  be  interrupted 
by  any  slight  causes.  And  being  now  promptly  followed 
by  his  men,  he  soon,  and  without  further  obstacle,  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and,  bringing  up  his  forces, 
immediately  surrounded  it.  Here  they  all  paused,  stand- 
ing motionless  and  silent,  listening  long  and  intensely. 
Everything  within  and  around  was  as  still  as  if  no  living 
being  was  within  a  mile  of  the  place. 

"  Hallo ! "  at  length  sharply  uttered  the  sheriff,  after 
waiting  till  he  began  to  doubt  whether  his  anticipated 
captives  had  escaped,  or  were  all  snugly  asleep  in  the 
cave,  "  hallo !  within  there !  " 

1  "  Hallo,  without  there !  "  was  the  ready  reply  from  the 
cavern. 

"  Ha !  ye  rebel  dogs  !  "  exultingly  exclaimed  Munroe  ; 
"  you  are  there,  are  ye  ?  We  have  kennelled  ye  at  last, 
then.  Now  hear  me — I  command  ye  to  surrender  your- 
selves to  the  king's  warrant,  every  scoundrel  of  ye — but 
first  of  all,  Charles  Warrington — do  you  hear  the  sum- 
mons ?  " 

"  We  hear  the  summons,  and  well  comprehend  its  im- 
port," coolly  replied  the  voice  from  the  cave,  which  w  as 
evidently  that  of  the  person  especially  named  by  the  sher- 
iff;  "but  touching  your  last  demand,  mine  ancient  friend 
— for  in  your  voice  I  think  I  recognize  the  person  with 
whom  I  once  exchanged  civilities  in  the  southern  part  of 
our  favored  settlement— touching  your  last  demand,  I  beg 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  23 

xodve  to  observe,  that  being  somewhat  personally  inter- 
ested myself  in  the  decision  to  be  made  in  regard  to  the 
requirement,  I  would  respectfully  refer  you  to  my  friends 
here,  who  will  doubtless  give  you  such  answer  as  their 
Unbiassed  judgments  shall  dictate." 

"  Do  you  think  to  dally  with  me,  scoundrel?"  stormed 
Munroe,  nettled  at  the  provoking  coolness  of  his  antago- 
nist, and  especially  at  his  ironical  allusion  to  a  persona; 
chastisement  received  from  his  hands  the  year  before, 
"such  attempts  will  but  little  avail  you'll  find.  Nor  will 
it  he  of  the  least  use,  let  me  tell  you  all,  to  think  of  con- 
tending against  our  numbers:  and  the  longer  you  hold 
out  the  worse  it  shall  be  for  ye.  So  yield  yourselves  in- 
stantly, or,  so  help  me  Beelzebub,  every  dog  of  you  shall 
swing  for  it." 

"Assertions,"  observed  Selden,  who  being  Warring- 
ton's only  companion  in  the  cave,  now  took  up  the  dis- 
course on  the  hint  of  his  superior ;  "  assertions,  sir  sheriff, 
sometimes,  unfortunately,  are  more  easily  made  than 
proved.  You  may  not  find  us,  perhaps,  so  entirely  un- 
prepared for  your  visit  as  you  have  expected,  notwith- 
standing our  warder  thought  fit,  in  his  owl-like  wisdom, 
to  be  somewhat  tardy  in  announcing  your  approach.  It 
may  not  be  prudent  in  us,  however,  to  speak  wholly  with- 
out reserve  in  this  matter,  as  we  know  not  how  much  aid 
your  honor  may  expect  from  the  friend  you  last  invoked." 

The  intimations  which  they  gathered  from  these  re- 
plies, together  with  the  jeering  calmness  attending  them, 
which  seemed  to  imply  a  sense  of  security  in  the  assailed 
from  resources  unknown  to  the  assailants,  considerably 
dampened  the  ardor  of  the  sheriff  and  his  band  ;  and  they 
began  to  suspect  that  their  triumphs  might  not  prove  so 
cheaply  won  as  they  had  anticipated.  The  men,  indeed, 
now  began  to  show  symptoms  of  fear  and  uneasiness  at 
standing  longer  before  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  from  which, 
for  aught  they  could  see  or  know,  a  dozen  loaded  rifles 
might  be  pointed  against  them;  and  their  leader  shouted 
loudly  to  the  man  left  in  the  rear,  directing  him  to  come 
on  with  lights,  and  declaring  at  the  same  time  with  a 
tremendous  oath,  that  if  the  stubborn  rascals  didn't  in- 
stantly yield,  he  would  send  a  volley  of  balls  in  among 
them,  and  if  that  failed,  he  would  smoke  them  out  like  so 


24  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

many  burrowed  foxes.  He  was  not  allowed,  however 
much  time  to  attempt  the  fulfilment  of  his  menaces  ;  foi 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  two  of  whom  only,  as  before 
mentioned,  were  in  the  cave,  the  rest  being  stationed  in 
the  nearest  surrounding  coverts,  now  deemed  it  time 
to  begin  their  plan  of  operations.  Suddenly  a  fearful 
screech,  something  between  that  of  a  man  and  a  wild 
brute,  issuing  from  the  thicket  above  the  cave,  resounded 
through  the  forest,  sending  its  startling  thrill  to  the  very 
hearts  of  the  appalled  and  astonished  assailants.  All 
eyes  were  involuntarily  turned  upwards  to  the  spot  from 
which  these  terrific  sounds  seemed  to  proceed. 

"  A  catamount !  a  catamount !  "  wildly  shouted  several 
of  the  party. 

"Where?  where?"  eagerly  exclaimed  others. 

"There!  up  there  in  the  fork  of  that  tree!"  hurriedly 
replied  the  former,  pointing  to  the  top  of  a  leaning  tree 
that  projected  nearly  over  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  in  a 
broad  fork  of  which  the  outlines  of  a  dark  body,  as  if  some 
large  animal  crouching  for  a  leap  upon  his  prey,  with  great 
fiery  eyeballs  glaring  down  upon  them,  was  sufficiently 
discernible  to  justify  their  alarm. 

"He  moves!"  cried  one,  "hark!  hear  him  fixing  his 
claws  in  the  bark  !  There,  he  stirs  again  !  look  out !  he's 
going  to  leap  down  upon  us — fire  !  quick,  all  hands,  fire  !  " 

"Hold!  hold!"  shouted  Munroe,  the  suspicion  of  a 
trick  now  for  the  first  time  flashing  across  his  mind.  But 
the  command  came  too  late;  for  while  the  words  were  in 
his  mouth,  every  gun  and  pistol  in  the  party  except  his 
own,  were  discharged  at  the  object  of  their  terror,  which 
was  seen,  in  the  expiring  flash,  to  bound  out  from  the  tree 
directly  over  the  place  where  they  stood;  and  all,  in  their 
eagerness  to  avoid  the  clutches  of  the  leaping  animal,  weh 
known  to  be  terrible  when  wounded,  even  if  in  the  last 
agonies  of  death,  broke  away,  and  fled  in  confusion  from 
the  spot,  wholly  unmindful  of  their  duty  in  guarding  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  and  everything  else,  but  their  own 
safety,  in  the  general  panic  that  had  seized  them.  A 
momentary  pause  followed  the  explosion  of  the  fire-arms 
in  which  nothing  was  heard  save  the  hasty  scrambling  o* 
the  terrified  Yorkers  in  their  eager  efforts  to  escape.  Iu 
an  instant-  however,  a  rushing  from  other  quarters  wav 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  25 

heard — dark  forms  were  seen  swiftly  gliding  from  the 
cave  and  the  thickets  above,  in  the  direction  of  the  re- 
treating party,  among  whom,  in  a  moment  more,  a  cry  of 
dismay  rose  wildly  on  the  air.  Munroe  and  three  of  his 
men  were  suddenly  seized  round  their  waists  or  legs  from 
behind,  by  the  iron  grasp  of  grappling  arms,  and,  being 
lifted  from  the  ground,  were  upborne  with  resistless  force 
and  rapidity  toward  the  shore  of  the  lake ;  all  of  them 
but  their  leader  verily  believing,  in  the  fright  and  confu- 
sion of  the  moment,  that  it  was  the  catamount,  whose 
fearful  image  was  still  uppermost  in  their  minds,  that 
had  seized  them  and  was  bearing  them  off  in  his  grasp. 

"  Help !  help  here !  He  has  got  me !  for  God's  sake 
help  me ! "  screamed  one  in  an  agony  of  terror. 

"Murder!"  exclaimed  another;  "Oh!  get  him  off — 
get  him  off !  murder !  murder  !  " 

"  Oh  !  aw !  "  cried  the  third  in  a  yell  of  despair ;  "  he 
has  got  his  claws  in  my  throat — he'll  kill  me — he  will ! 
he  will!  yah!  yah!" 

Munroe  alone,  of  all  the  thus  oddly  captured  party  was 
mute.  Rightly  judging  the  character  of  the  foe  into 
whose  hands  he  had  fallen,  and  boiling  with  silent  rage 
he  made  the  most  desperate  struggles  to  free  himself 
from  the  vise-like  grasp  of  his  captor,  who,  he  at  once 
concluded  from  his  great  strength,  the  effects  of  which 
he  had  before  experienced,  could  be  no  other  than  War- 
rington. But  wholly  failing  in  this  attempt,  and  finding 
himself  still  carried  rapidly  onward,  he  knew  not  to  what 
destination,  he  next  tried  to  disengage  his  dirk  from  its 
sheath,  in  which  it  was  confined  beneath  the  grappling 
arm  of  his  opponent.  Before  succeeding  in  this,  how- 
ever, and  while  intent  only  on  his  murderous  design,  he 
was  oorne  by  his  intended  victim  to  the  margin  of  the 
water,  and,  with  a  giant  effort,  hurled  headlong  over  the 
bank.  The  loud  splashing  that  succeeded,  told  that  he 
was  now  struggling  in  the  embrace  of  a  different,  though 
not  a  much  more  comfortable,  antagonist ;  while  three 
more  heavy  plunges,  following  in  irregular  succession 
along  the  bank,  still  further  announced  that  the  van- 
quished sheriff  was  not  without  the  company  of  a  good 
share  of  his  friends  to  console  him  in  the  discomforts  of 
the  new  elements,  into  which  they  all  had  been  so  sud- 


26  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

denly  and,  unexpectedly  translated.  The  shrill  notes  of 
Warrington's  signal  whistle  now  sounded  the  precon- 
certed retreat.  In  a  moment  more  the  victorious  party 
were  assembled  at  the  appointed  landing — in  another, 
they  were  embarked;  while  their  boat,  by  the  strong 
push  of  the  last  man  springing  in,  was  sent,  by  the  single 
impulse,  so  far  into  the  lake  as  to  put  a  safe  distance 
between  them  and  their  foes,  now  beginning  to  rally, 
with  cries  of  rage,  on  the  shore.  An  uncontrollable  peal 
of  laughter,  ending  in  three  loud  and  lively  cheers,  now 
burst  from  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  rending  the  welkin 
above,  and  startling  the  deep  recesses  of  the  surround- 
ing forests  with  the  triumphant  shout. 

"  The  battle  being  over,"  observed  Warrington,  after 
the  noise  of  their  merriment  and  exultation  had  measur- 
ably subsided ;  "  let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
wounded  and  missing." 

"  All  whole  of  skin,  I  imagine,"  said  Selden  ;  "  though 
here  is  one,  Smith,  I  believe  it  is,  who  comes  from  the 
fight,  as  near  as  1  can  discover,  like  the  Benjaminite  of 
the  Scripture,  just  escaped  from  the  Philistines,  with 
head  bare  and  garments  rent." 

"  I  must  leave  my  old  otter-skin  cap  in  their  hands,  I 
s'pose,"  coolly  replied  Smith  ;  "  I  had  to  take  it  to  finish 
off  the  catamount's  head  with  ;  for  I  couldn't  fix  the  fox- 
fire for  the  eyes  into  the  end  of  that  bundle  of  dry  grass, 
that  I  made  the  body  of,  so  as  to  look  any  how  natural 
without  it,  and  when  I  pushed  the  thing  out  of  the  crotch, 
as  I  stood  behind  the  tree  with  my  pole,  I  gave  it  such  a 
hoist  over  into  the  bushes  among  the  scared  devils,  that 
'twas  out  of  the  question  to  think  of  looking  for  the  cap, 
and  grabbing  one  of  the  scamps  too.  But  as  to  my  coat 
being  tore  here  a  little,  I  don't  valley  it  a  fraction,  seeing 
as  how  the  ragamuffin  I  hove  into  the  lake  got  pretty 
well  choked  to  pay  for  it." 

"  Ah,  you  have  done  well,  Smith,"  said  the  leader ; 
"all  of  you,  indeed,  have  done  nobly;  but  of  that  here- 
after— one  of  our  number  I  believe  is  missing — which 
is  it?" 

"  It  is  Pete  Jones,"  replied  Brown. 

"And  the  Indian  chap,"  added  Smith. 

"  The  Indian,"  resumed  Warrington,  "  after  announc- 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  27 

mg  the  enemy  for  ns  by  his  admirable  imitation  of  the 
owl,  departed  by  himself,  I  presume.  As  near  as  I  could 
gather  from  him,  he  did  not  wish  to  be  known  as  acting 
against  the  Yorkers.  He  probably  lives  with  some  family 
in  the  vicinity,  who  are  trying  to  stand  neutral  in  this 
warfare,  and  who  have  cautioned  him  to  govern  himself 
accordingly.  His  absence,  therefore,  does  not  surprise 
me.  But  what  can  have  become  of  Jones.  He  surely, 
is  not  a  fellow  to  be  easily  ensnared,  or  overpowered." 

"  I  rather  suspect,"  replied  Brown,  "  he  is  after  that 
traitor.  As,  when  the  Yorkers  were  creeping  on  toward 
the  cave,  he  whispered  to  me  he  thought  he  saw  a  fellow 
pointing  out  the  place,  and  slipping  back  over  the  hill, 
who,  he  guessed,  was  the  one — and  the  last  I  saw  of  Pete 
he  was  working  off  that  way.  Suppose,  Captain,  that  we 
row  along,  so  as  to  stand  off  the  shore,  in  that  direction, 
to  be  ready  to  take  him  in,  should  he  give  the  word?" 

In  pursuance  of  this  prudent  suggestion,  the  boat  was 
immediately  headed  round  to  the  north,  and  rowed  noise- 
lessly along  the  shore  in  the  direction  supposed  to  be 
taken  by  their  missing  companion.  They  had  made  but 
little  progress,  however,  before  they  were  startled  by  the 
sudden  flash  and  sharp  report  of  a  pistol,  in  a  thicket  near 
the  shore,  about  a  furlong  ahead. 

"  There  goes  trouble  for  poor  Jones,  I  fear — the  dastard 
has  attempted  his  life !  "  cried  Warrington,  in  the  varying 
tones  of  fear  for  the  result,  and  indignation  for  the  at- 
tempt; "but  if  help  be  of  any  further  use  to  him,  he 
shall  have  it.  So,  men,  pull  for  it!  pull  for  the  spot  with 
every  nerve  you  have  got,  or  the  Yorkers  will  be  there 
before  us." 

In  an  instant  the  canoe,  almost  leaping  from  its  ele- 
ment at  every  stroke  of  the  excited  and  strong-armed 
oarsmen,  was  surging  through  the  waters,  with  bird-like 
velocity,  towards  the  place.  As  Warrington  had  pre- 
dicted, the  enemy  on  shore,  on  hearing  the  report  of  the 
pistol,  immediately  started  for  this  new  scene  of  action. 
And,  quickly  perceiving  their  opponents  on  the  lake  mak- 
ing rapidly  for  the  spot,  they  redoubled  their  speed,  and 
rushed  on  as  fast  as  the  obstacles  of  the  woods,  and  the 
wet  clothes  and  benumbed  limbs  of  those  who  had  been 
ducked,  would  permit,  to  arrive  in  time   to  assist,  or 


28  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

rescue,  as  the  case  might  require,  their  absent  guide, 
whom  they  readily  concluded  to  be  an  actor  in  the  fracas, 
and  revenge  themselves,  if  possible,  on  the  whole  band 
of  their  foes,  for  the  sad  discomfiture  just  experienced. 
The  race  between  the  two  contending  parties  was  a  close 
one.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys,  however,  were  again 
in  fortune.  Their  boat  came  whirling  up  to  the  shore, 
adjoining  the  scene  of  action,  while  the  foremost  of  the 
enemy  was  yet  fifty  yards  distant. 

"  You  may  kick  till  all  is  blue,"  muttered  Jones,  whose 
tall  form  came  at  that  instant  peering  from  the  thicket, 
while  with  irregular  motions  he  made  toward  the  boat, 
bearing  bolt  upright  in  his  arms  before  him  his  grappled 
foe,  who  was  struggling  with  terrible  violence,  and  kick- 
ing desperately  against  every  tree  within  reach  of  his 
feet,  with  the  hope  of  retarding  the  progress  of  his  captor 
till  succor  arrived ;  "  you  may  kick,  and  be  hanged  !  but 
you  have  jest  got  to  go,  my  sweet  lad,  and  into  a  little 
better  company,  too,  than  you  hoped  for,  I  guess.  No 
help  for  it— so  in  with  you — there  ! — now  make  yourself 
comfortable,  friend,"  concluded  the  woodsman,  pitching 
his  captive  headlong  into  the  boat,  and  leaping  in  him- 
self, just  in  time  to  escape  the  pursuers,  now  close  at  his 
heels. 

"  Escaped  again,  by  the  pains  of  Tophet !  "  exclaimed 
the  enraged  Munroe  from  the  bank,  as  the   boat,  pre- 
viously headed  round,  shot  out  into  the  lake  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  twice  baffled  Yorkers ;  "  fire  !  fire !  upon  the  . 
damned  rascals ! " 

The  command  was  scarcely  uttered,  before  Jones,  hav- 
ing as  quick  as  thought  again  grappled  his  captive,  and 
faced  round  toward  the  shore,  was  holding  the  deprecat- 
ing victim  before  him  in  the  stern,  so  as  to  cover  the 
range  of  the  expected  volley. 

"  Let  drive  there  !  "  exclaimed,  Pete,  with  the  utmost 
nonchalance,  "  you  needn't  feel  any  delicacy,  gentlemen, 
for  I'll  agree  to  take  all  the  bullets  you'll  send  through 
this  beautiful  target  I'm  holding  for  you." 

"  Don't  fire !  for  God's  sake  don't  let  'em  fire,  Munroe  ! " 
screamed  the  struggling  and  terrified  prisoner. 

"You  need  not  be  much  alarmed,  I  think,  fellow,"  said 
Warrington;  "the  sheriff's  pistols  must  be  rather  too 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  29 

wet  to  be  very  dangerous,  and  as  to  the  arms  of  the  rest, 
which  were  all  discharged  at  the  catamount,  we  shall 
have  but  little  to  fear  from  them  by  the  time  they  can  be 
loaded." 

"I  mistrusted  as  much,  myself,"  observed  Jones,  re- 
leasing  the  prisoner;  "but  I  thought  I  would  scare  the 
fellow"  a  little,  for  his  scurvy  treatment  to  me." 

"The  pistol  we  heard,  then,  was  meant,  as  we  sus- 
pected, for  you  ?  "  asked  the  leader. 

"  O,  yes,"  replied  the  other,  carelessly ;  "  to  be  sure  he 
showed  the  best  good  will  in  the  world  to  make  a  hole  in 
me ;  but  I  shouldn't  have  laid  that  up  much,  seeing  he 
missed  his  aim,  which  is  a  sort  of  punishment  in  itself, 
you  know,  if  he  hadn't  afterward  offered  me  money  to  let 
him  go,  and  keep  his  name  and  all  close — why,  I  never 
was  so  insulted  in  my  life ! " 

"His  name?  who  is  it?  what  is  his  name?"  eagerly 
asked  several  of  the  company. 

"  Mayhap  you  from  down  south  never  heard  of  him, 
and  don't  know  him,  but  I  did,  the  moment  I  saw  his  face 
as  he  passed  the  fellow  bringing  the  torch-light.  His 
name  is  Sherwood,  living  down  in  New  Haven,  and  he  is 
iest  one  of  the  smoothest  fellows  that  ever  wore  two  faces 
in  a  day,  asking  his  pardon." 

"  Sherwood— Sherwood,"  said  Warrington,  musingly  ; 
"aha!  I  now  remember  to  have  heard  of  his  having  been 
at  Bennington,  and  also  of  his  having  made  some  suspi- 
cious visits  to  Albany.  But  we  will  examine  his  merits 
more  particularly  when  we  reach  the  opposite  shore." 

"See  how  wishful  those  fellows  are  looking  after  us!" 
observed  Jones,  pointing  back  to  the  shore,  now  about 
fifty  rods  distant,  where  the  Yorkers,  having  procured  a 
light,  were  still  standing  in  a  dark  group,  evidently  try- 
ing to  trace  the  course  of  the  receding  boat ;  "  I  swan  !  if 
I  was  only  bloody  minded  enough,  how  I  would  like  to 
take  a  shot  into  that  flock  of  York  buzzards !  " 

"Hold  up  a  little,  oarsmen,"  said  the  leader  ;  "andwe 
will  give  them  a  kinder  compliment  than  that,  before 
entirely  parting.  So  good-night,  Mr.  Munroe,"  he  con- 
tinued, rising  in  the  boat,  and  raising  his  loud  clear  voice 
to  a  pitch,  which  in  the  dead  stillness  of  night,  might  have 
been  distinctly  audible  to  a  far  greater  distance  ;  "good- 


30  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

flight !  my  old  friend — I  hope  for  the  pleasure  of  many 
such  meetings  and  partings  before  we  die— pleasant 
dreams  and  a  good-night  to  you  I " 

"  Good-night,  sir  sheriff,"  added  Selden,  in  the  same 
strain  of  mock  courtesy;  "  we  humbly  trust  you  will  duly 
appreciate  our  late  reception  of  yourself  and  fellows  in 
imitation  of  the  much  lauded  oriental  custom  of  regaling 
friends  with  the  luxury  of  the  cool  bath,  which,  together 
with  the  honor  done  you  of  being  carried,  like  other  im- 
mortal heroes,  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  will  make  out  an 
entertainment,  we  flatter  ourselves,  not  wholly  unworthy 
of  our  guests — good-night ! " 

"  Hallo  there,  sheriff !  "  cried  Jones,  determined  to  have 
a  parting  shot  as  well  as  the  rest ;  "hallo,  sheriff,  won't 
you  jest  be  kind  enough  to  tell  us  by  way  of  information, 
before  we  go,  what  kind  of  a  return  you  calculate  to 
make  on  that  warrant  you  told  us  about.  We  should  like 
grandly  to  see  it  when  you  have  got  it  fixed.  That  'tother 
poor  bothered  sheriff's  non  comeatibus  in  swampo%  I  gueas, 
would  be  a  fool  to  it." 


CHAPTER  m. 

•*  Ah,  me  !  what  perils  do  environ 
The  man  that  meddles  with  cold  iron — 
"What  plaguy  mischiefs  and  mishaps 
Do  dog  him  still  with  afterclaps." 

Sherwood,  the  person  we  introduced  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, and  left  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Green  Mount- 
ain Boys,  a  fair  candidate  for  the  honor  of  the  Beech-seal, 
or  some  other  of  the  novel  and  ingenious  modes  of  punish- 
ment, which  the  settlers  were  accustomed  to  inflict  on 
their  foes  with  equal  promptitude,  whether  they  were 
foreign  or  domestic,  was  a  resident  of  New  Haven,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lower  falls  of  Otter  Creek,  then  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  that  town,  but  now  forming  the  site 
of  Vergennes,  the  only  incorporated  city  in  Vermont. 
He  had  here  located  himself,  ostensibly  to  become  a  per- 
manent settler — to  share  the  fortunes  and  identify  him- 
ielf  with  the  interests  of  the  New  Hampshire  grantees  \ 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  81 

while  in  fact,  he  was  a  secret  agent  of  a  company  of  New 
York  land- jobbers,  in  their  pay,  and  himself  engaged,  at 
the  same  time,  in  speculating  in  the  patents  issued  by  the 
governor  of  the  last-named  province.  Through  the  in- 
fluence of  his  father,  a  man  of  reputed  wealth,  living  near 
Albany,  he  had  been  taken  into  the  employment  of  this 
company. 

And  they,  soon  finding  him  a  person  well  fitted  for 
their  purposes,  induced  him,  by  opening  to  his  avaricious 
mind  the  prospect  of  making  a  1'ortULe  out  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  in  addition  to  the  stated  salary  to  be 
allowed  him,  to  take  a  secret  agency,  and  locate  himself 
in  some  part  of  the  settlement  where  he  would  most  effect- 
aally  subserve  their  interests.  In  pursuance  of  this 
object  it  had  been  agreed  that  he  should  first  proceed  to 
New  Hampshire,  and,  taking  out  a  patent  from  that 
source,  should  enter  Vermont  known  only  as  a  grantee  of 
that  province,  in  order  that  he  might  thus  be  effectually 
secure  from  the  hostility  of  the  settlers,  and  enabled  to 
maintain  with  them  a  free  and  unsuspected  intercourse, 
which,  at  the  present  juncture,  could  alone  ensure  him 
any  success  or  safety.  This  had  been  accordingly  done 
something  more  than  a  year  previous  to  the  events  of  our 
tale.  A  single  lot  of  land  had  been  purchased  and  located 
by  him  near  the  Otter,  in  the  manner  agreed  on  by  the 
company.  And  so  spaciously  had  this  wily  agent  con- 
ducted, beginning  and  carrying  on  improvements  just 
sufficient  to  save  appearances,  while  mainly  pursuing  the 
objects  of  his  residence  in  the  settlement,  that  till  now  he 
had  passed  wholly  unsuspected  of  being  in  the  York  inter- 
est, except  in  the  slight  question  that  had  been  raised 
concerning  nis  true  character,  on  account  of  his  having 
been  recognized  by  some  settlers  from  the  south  part  of 
the  Grants,  as  before  intimated,  while  on  one  of  his  secret 
journeys  to  Albany.  With  these  remarks,  which  will 
apprise  the  reader  with  all  that  may  at  present  be  nec- 
essary to  be  known  respecting  the  previous  character  and 
employment  of  this  personage,  we  will  return  to  the 
thread  of  our  narrative. 

Brightly  rose  the  waning  moon  over  the  eastern  mount- 
ains, which  cast  their  broad,  wood-fringed  shadows  far 
into  the  lake,  while  a  flood  of  silvery  light,  falling  on  the 


$J2  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

sleeping  waters  and  towering  forest  beyond,  was  gradually 
unfolding  the  bold  and  magnificent  outlines  of  this  wilder- 
ness landscape,  as  our  victorious  band  of  Green  Mountain 
Boys  merrily  sped  their  way  to  the  western  shore. 

"  What. a  glorious  spectacle!  "  exclaimed  Selden,  look- 
ing abroad,  over  the  scene,  as  the  boat  emerged  from  the 
dark  gloomy  line  of  the  mountain  shadows  into  the  bright 
and  cheerful  tract  of  illumined  waters,  that  now  met  them 
on  their  course. 

«  Splendid  ?  splendid,  indeed !  "  responded  Warrington, 
with  equal  enthusiasm  ;  "  such  scenes,  one  would  think, 
were  enough  to  enamour  the  whole  world  of  a  sylvan 
life." 

"  And  yet,"  observed  Selden,  "  those  city-smcked  ex- 
quisites, who  claim  all  the  taste  and  refinement  of  the 
country,  are  horrified  at  the  thought  of  the  life  we  here 
lead  in  the  Green  Mountains." 

"  I  don't  think  the  creturs  are  so  much  to  be  blamed 
for  that,"  said  Pete  Jones.;  "for  bringing  them  here  I 
calculate  would  be  putting  them  pretty  nearly  in  the 
plight  of  frogs  that  are  dug  from  the  bottom  of  a  well — 
always  sure  to  shiver  and  die  the  minute  they  are  broughc 
to  the  pure  air." 

"  If  all  this  be  so,"  rejoined  Warrington^  significantly 
glancing  at  the  dress  and  comparatively  delicate  appear- 
ance  of  the  prisoner;  "I  hope  that  such  of  this  class,  as 
are  connected  with  a  certain  city  to  the  west  of  us,  will 
be  less  inclined  to  favor  our  settlement  with  their  presence 
hereafter.  Let  them  stick  to  their  mode  of  life  and  it's 
luxuries,  and  we  will  to  our  mountains.  But  I  am  re- 
minded, Lieutenant,"  he  continued,  turning  gayly  to 
Selden,  "of  the  possibility  of  our  being  favored  with 
something  on  this  subject  in  a  more  agreeable  form,  if  I 
rightly  divined  the  nature  of  your  employment,  and  the 
tlieme  that  occupied  your  mind  there  at  the  fire  before 
the  cave  last  evening,  after  the  rest  of  us  had  retired  to 
our  stone  couches  for  the  night.  Can  you  oblige  us  with 
the  fruits  of  your  vigil,  in  the  shape  of  a  song?" 

"  O,  yes,  such  as  it  is — that  is,  if  my  music  will  not  jar 

upon  the  feelings  of  our  friend  in  durance  here,  and  you 

are  all  willing  to   risk  the  same  effect  on  yourselves," 

jocosely  replied  the  other,  as  he  pulled  from  his  pocket  a 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  33 

small  roll  of  white  birch  bark  (the  soft,  smooth  inner 
surface  of  which  he  had  made,  as  was  in  those  times  not 
unfrequently  the  case,  his  papyrus  in  noting  down  his 
hasty  effusion),  and  turning  to  the  moonlight,  com- 
menced : 

In  the  courts  of  high  life,  and  in  Fashion's  domain, 
Where  Folly  is  licensed  by  birthright  to  reign, 
Let  the  gay  idle  throng,  in  their  old  reckless  measure, 
Their  phantoms  still  follow,  and  christen  them  Pleasure, 

But  we,  who  disdain  not  to  follow  the  plough, 
And  our  livelihood  gain  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow — 
What  have  we  here  to  do  with  the  fashions  of  cities? 
Their  levees,  theatrics,  and  opera  ditties  ? 

What  to  do  with  the  trappings  abound  them  dkplay'd? 
Their  half  dress,  their  full  dress,  their  dress  promenade— 
Their  turtle-soup  dinners,  their  port  and  champagne, 
A.nd  knick-knacks  unnumbered  that  follow  in  train  ? 

A.11  these  we  will  leave,  and  without  one  regret, 
To  the  poor  pamper'd  wights  of  that  butterfly  set, 
And  turn  to  our  dainties,  the  fruits  of  our  mountains, 
Our  wines  sparkling  up  in  their  health-giving  fountains. 

And  wear  with  just  pride,  as  forever  we  ought, 
Our  woollens  and  checks  by  our  fireside  wrought, 
While  we  scout  from  our  country  those  es  quisite  goats 
Who  measure  their  worth  by  the  cloth  of  their  coats. 

As  the  clear,  melodious  voice  of  the  singer,  floating 
free  and  wide  over  the  hushed  waters  of  the  lake,  died 
away  in  the  distance,  and,  while  the  shouts  of  applause, 
which  greeted  him  at  the  close  of  his  performance  (in- 
tended, as  was  supposed,  to  hit  off  the  York  gentry,  and 
the  last  couplet  to  apply  to  the  prisoner  in  particular), 
were  yet  echoing  around,  the  boat  of  the  elated  Green 
Mountain  Boys  reached  its  destined  landing.  And  imme- 
diately disembarking  with  their  prisoner,  they  proceeded 
to  a  rude,  bark-covered  shanty,  built  by  former  visitors 
to  the  lake,  and  standing  amidst  a  group  of  large  ever- 
greens a  few  rods  from  the  water.  There,  after  striking 
a  light  and  kindling  up  a  cheerful  fire,  they  promptly 
set  about  the  business  of  deciding  upon  the  case  of  the 
supposed  traitor.  For  this  purpose  they  formally  resolved 
themselves,  as  was  usual  in  such  cases  where  a  resort 
?ould  not  readily  be  had  to  a  committee  of  safety,  into  9 
3 


34  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

sort  of  tribunal,  very  nearly  resembling,  we  suppose,  a 
modern  Lynch  court,  a  form  of  dispensing  justice  which, 
if  ever  justifiable,  was  undoubtedly  so  in  the  acts  of  our 
early  settlers  in  resisting  that  system  of  legalized  plunder 
attempted  to  be  enforced  on  them  by  their  oppressors. 
And  if  the  right  of  defending  their  homes  and  possessions 
from  unwarrantable  seizures  be  conceded  them,  it  was 
certainly  not  only  justifiable  but  honorable  in  them  Ito 
resort,  as  they  did,  to  such  measures  as  they  judged  most 
effectual  in  shielding  from  arrest  and  threatened  punish- 
ment  those  of  their  fellow-settlers,  who,  by  their  patriotism 
in  the  common  cause,  had  rendered  themselves  obnoxious 
to  the  arbitrary  enactments  of  the  usurping  government. 
For  soon  after  the  settlers  had  begun  openly  to  resist  the 
authorities  of  New  York  in  attempting  to  dispossess  them, 
a  law,  more  despotic  perhaps  than  any  to  be  found  in  the 
annals  of  legislation,  had  been  enacted  by  the  Assembly 
of  that  province  requiring  some  six  or  eight  of  the  settlers, 
who  had  been  most  conspicuous  in  the  controversy,  to 
surrender  themselves,  on  the  order  of  the  executive,  with- 
in seventy  days,  to  a  magistrate  for  imprisonment,  and, 
in  case  of  neglect,  to  be  adjudged  convicted,  and,  without 
hearing  or  trial,  condemned  to  suffer  death.  And  not 
delivering  themselves  up,  as  might  well  be  expected,  the 
governor  issued  his  proclamation  proscribing  them  as 
felons,  and  offering  large  rewards  for  their  apprehension, 
which,  while  it  led  to  many  secretly  laid  plots,  and 
several  open  though  fruitless  attempts  to  seize  them  by 
the  Yorkers,  in  concert  with  a  few  traitorous  settlers, 
served  only  to  endear  them  to  an  indignant  and  aroused 
people,  who  publicly  resolved  to  protect  at  every  hazard 
their  proscribed  leaders,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  to 
defend  the  general  interest  of  the  settlement  even  at  the 
price  of  their  lives.  Of  this  goodly  company  of  outlaws, 
embracing  some  of  the  first  and  most  talented  men  of 
the  Grants,  two,  as  before  intimated,  were  among  the  band 
whom  we  have  introduced  to  the  reader,  and  to  whom  we 
will  now  return. 

Pete  Jones,  the  principal  witness  in  the  case  now  to  be 
decided,  being  called  on  for  his  testimony,  related  at  large 
and  in  his  own  vein  of  peculiar  drollery,  what  he  knew 
of  the  previous  life  and  character  of  the  prisoner,  who,  it 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  35 

appeared,  had  been  frequently  absent  from  home,  though 
his  excursions  were  generally  undertaken  under  the  pro- 
fessed character  of  a  sportsman,  for  the  employments  of 
which  he  pretended  a  great  liking,  but  for  what  reason 
nobody  could  imagine,  as  it  never  could  be  ascertained 
that  he  was  ever  successful.  It  also  appeared  that  he 
had  been  loud  in  his  denunciations  against  the  Yorkers, 
and,  as  far  as  words  could  go,  a  great  stickler  for  the  rights 
of  the  settlers.  The  witness  then  related  all  the  particu- 
lars of  his  detecting  and  capturing  the  prisoner.  After 
this  the  accused  was  requested  to  make  his  defence,  when, 
to  the  surprise  of  all,  he  wholly  denied  any  hostile  inten- 
tion, or  any  willing  participation  in  the  recent  attempt  of 
Munroe  to  surprise  and  seize  the  present  party  at  the 
cave,  deliberately  stating  that  while  hunting  in  the  woods 
near  the  Creek  that  afternoon,  he  was  met,  made  prisoner 
by  the  Yorkers,  and  compelled  to  accompany  them  on 
their  expedition,  the  object  of  which  they  did  not  reveal  to 
him.  And  in  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  his  statements, 
and  of  his  asserted  innocence,  he  cited  the  general 
character  he  had  always  sustained  as  a  friend  of  the 
settlers. 

"Do  you  generally  manifest  your  friendship  for  the 
settlers  by  firing  pistols  at  their  heads,  sir?"  asked  War- 
rington, casting  a  look  of  withering  contempt  on  the 
prisoner. 

"0,  I  was  trying  to  escape,"  replied  Sherwood,  who 
had  his  ready  answer  to  a  question  he  had  anticipated; 
"I  was  on  the  point  of  escaping,  and  discharged  my  pistol 
at  this  man,  who  beset  me,  to  prevent  being  retaken,  sup- 
posing him  all  the  while  to  be  one  of  the  Yorkers." 

"Whew!"  uttered  Jones,  with  a  whistle,  prolonged 
into  an  exclamation;  "now,  honestly,  friend,  I  must  crave 
leave  to  tell  you — but  that  wouldn't  be  manners,  and  so 
I  won't — though  I  should  really  like  to  ask  you  if  there 
was  any  one  Yorker  there  to-night  that  a  fellow  of  my 
short  stature — only  six  foot  eleven,  in  shirt  flaps — could 
be  taken  for  with  any  sort  of  conscience?" 

"Yes,  in  the  dark." 

"But  you  may  remember,  possibly,  friend,  that  you  had 
to  raise  your  pistol  considerably  higher  than  your  head  to 
get  aim  at  mine,  which  you  seemed  to  fancy  shooting  at 


36  THE  GUESN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

in  preference.  Besides  that,  we  took  what  I  call  a  fail' 
measure  of  lengths  on  the  ground  in  the  bit  of  grapple 
we  had  afterwards — now  most  folks  that  I  am  acquainted 
with  can  feel  in  the  dark,  if  they  can't  see." 

"  O,  I  was  so  confused  and  frightened,  that  I  noticed 
none  of  these  circumstances,  but  really  supposed  it  was 
one  of  the  Yorkers  till  you  had  got  with  me  nearly  to  the 
boat." 

"  Well,  now,"  exclained  Pete,  dropping  his  head  in 
affected  chagrin ;  "  I  vow  to  Jeremiah,  I  never  felt  so 
mortified  in  my  life!  To  be  taken  for  a  Yorker!  only 
think  of  that  I  " 

"A  sad  mistake,  truly,"  observed  Selden,  addressing 
his  companions  while  in  a  side  glance  he  kept  an  eye 
keenly  fixed  on  the  prisoner ;  "  but  still  it  was  scarcely  a 
more  singular  one  than  I  made  as  we  struck  a  light  just 
now,  when,  turning  to  look  at  this  man,  I  could  have 
sworn  he  was  the  identical  fellow  we  detected  skulking 
about  the  shore  yesterday — the  make,  motion,  and  dress 
of  the  two  being  so  very  similar." 

"  That's  false !  "  hastily  exclaimed  Sherwood,  completely 
thrown  off  his  guard  by  the  roundabout  way,  and  de- 
signedly incorrect  statement  of  the  other,  made  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  its  effect  on  the  prisoner;  "  that's  false, 
for  this  was  not  the  dress  I  wore  yest —  "  and  he  stopped 
short  in  visible  confusion  at  the  thought  of  the  admission 
he  was  inadvertently  making;  while  meaning  and  trium- 
phant' glances  were  exchanged  among  the  company.  Soon 
recovering  in  some  degree  his  self-possession,  however, 
and  seeing  how  he  had  been  entrapped,  he  attempted  to 
mend  the  matter  by  explaining  that  he  was  about  to  say 
that  this  was  not  the  dress  he  wore  yesterday,  even  had 
he  been  here,  instead  of  a  dozen  miles  off,  as  he  was,  and 
could  prove,  as  well  as  his  innocence  of  all  the  charges 
brought  against  him,  if  time  were  but  allowed  him  for  the 
purpose.  And  this,  or  his  acquittal,  he  continued  for  some 
time  to  demand,  becoming,  however,  every  moment  less 
assured  in  his  tone,  and  more  abject  in  his  manner,  as 
he  stealthily  glanced  round,  and  read  his  doom  in  the 
countenances  of  his  judges. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  said  the  leader,  breaking  the  brief 
interval  of  silence,  which  followed  the  last  somewhat 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  37 

broken  and  confused  remarks  of  the  accused ;  "you  have 
heard  the  evidence  against  the  prisoner,  as  well  as  his 
defence  and  avowals  of  innocence.  Will  you  offer  you" 
individual  opinions  on  the  question  of  his  guilt?  And 
we  will  first  hear  what  you  may  have  to  offer  on  the  sub' 
]ect,  Mr.  Jones  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  don't  know  exactly  about  the  chap,  Captain,'* 
said  the  latter,  with  a  mischievous  cocking  of  one  eye, 
while  screwing  up  his  mouth  nearly  to  his  ear  on  the 
opposite  side  of  his  face  ;  "  he  says  he  is  innocent  of  the 
traitor,  and  it  is  a  poor  story  if  he  don't  know.  But  I 
have  two  other  charges  against  him,  which  I  consider 
rather  gravus.  Firstly,  according  to  his  own  story,  he 
suffered  himself,  with  that  clean  pair  of  legs  of  his,  and 
the  woods  open  for  a  run,  if  he  chose  that,  or  with  guns 
and  pistols  if  he  chose  to  ;tand  and  fight — (now  while  I 
think  on't,  I  wonder  what  become  of  his  gun) — he  suffered 
himself,  I  say,  to  be  taken  by  the  Yorkers  in  a  way  and 
manner  which  is  a  burning  shame  to  a  Green  Mountain 
Boy,  if  so  be  he  is  one,  as  he  pretends.  And  secondly  he 
missed  his  aim  when  he  levelled  at  my  head,  for  which  a 

Frofessed  hunter  like  himself  ought  to  be  ridiculous.     So 
think,  considering,  I  shall  vote  to  have  him  viewed."  * 
"  And  you,  Smith,  what  is  your  verdict?" 
"  My  opinion  is,"  answered  the  man  now  addressed, 
"  that  the  fellow's  plausible  palaver  is  ail  nothing  but  a 
made  up  mess  to  bamboozle  us  vith — I  should  like  to 
know  how  the  Yorkers  knew  that  we  were  here  en  the 
lafce,  or  how  they  happened  to  find  the  cave  without  ni» 
help.    The  fact  is,  he  brought  them  here  to  seize  us,  and 
was  probably  calculating  to  see  some  of  us  swinging  on  a 
York  gallows  within  a  week.    My  verdict,  therefore,  will 
he  pretty  much  such  a  one  as  as  the  king  gave  Haman." 
"  And  what  say  you,  Brown  ?  " 
"  Guilty !  guilty  as  a  dog,  and  the  liar  knows  it." 
"  And,  lastly,  your  opinion,  Mr.  Selden  ?  " 
"  Briefly  told — that  the  fellow's  guilt  is  equalled  only 
by  his  effrontery,  and  yet,  as  this  is  his  first  known 
offence,  I  would  recommend  a  milder  punishment  than 
the  one  which  has  been  hinted  at." 

*  A  <  ant  phrase  among  the  settlers,  signifying  the  punishment 
©f  offenders. 


88  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"We  are  unanimous,  then,  in  a  verdict,  gentlemen/ 
observed  the  chief,  "  if  I  understand  your  various  modes 
of  expressing  your  opinions.  And  it  remains  only  to  de- 
termine in  what  manner  the  prisoner  shall  be  punished 
for  his  offence.  You  are  all,  including  the  prisoner  him- 
self, I  presume,  well  aware  that,  by  a  decree  of  our  Con- 
vention, the  only  source  of  law  we  feel  ourselves  bound 
to  regard  in  cases  of  this  kind,  the  crime  of  aiding  the 
enemy  to  arrest  one  of  our  citizens,  who  may  have  hap- 
pened to  fall  under  the  ban  of  that  despotic  edict  by  which 
they  would  terrify  us  into  submission,  is  made  punishable 
with  death.  If  this  were  to  be  inflicted,  however,  on  the 
prisoner,  I  should  be  inclined  to  grant  him  a  more  formal 
trial,  before  a  regularly  appointed  committee  of  safety, 
and  allow  him  time  for  his  defence,  as  he  requests — not 
that  I  have  the  least  doubt  of  his  guilt,  for  I  believe  him 
to  be  the  most  precious  compound  of  duplicity  and  villainy 
that  I  have  seen  in  the  settlement,  but  I  would  grant  it 
on  the  principle  of  allowing'every  man  the  best  means  to 
establish  his  innocence,  when  his  life  is  at  stake.  Yet, 
concurring  with  Mr.  Selden,  T  think  we  had  better  adopt 
one  of  the  ordinary  modes  of  punishment,  for  which  the 
evidence  is  abundantly  sufficient,  administer  it  on  the 
spot,  and  dismiss  him  with  the  admonition  it  will  give. 
What  this  punishment  shall  be,  I  will  leave  to  you  to 
designate." 

"  I  should  like  to  have  the  title  of  my  farm  confirmed,'' 
said  Smith,  "  seeing  the  Yorkers  still  continue  to  dispute 
it,  and  as  the  Beech-seal  is  a  sort  of  legal  instrument  to 
do  it  with,  they  say,  I  vote  that  we  apply  it." 

"Just  the  thing  for  the  double-faced  scoundrel,  if  we 
have  got  to  let  him  off  so  cheap,"  bluntly  remarked 
Brown. 

"My  title  to  my  head,"  said  Pete  Jones,  "seems  to  be 
rather  questioned,  and  as  it  is  an  article  that  would  be 
dreadful  inconvenient  for  me  to  be  without,  I  motion  that 
it  be  confirmed  too." 

"  So  be  it,  then,"  observed  Selden  ;  "  I  had,  it  is  true, 
thought  of  a  ducking,  that  he  might  be  enabled  to  sym- 
pathize with  his  friends  over  the  lake — I  also  had  thought 
of  taking  him  up  into  the  top  of  one  of  those  ti'ees,  and 
leaving  him  bound  there  for  the  night ;  but  neither  of 


Til  E  GE  EEN  MO  UX  TAIN  B  O  YS.  39 

these  punishments,  probably,  would  so  nearly  come  up  to 
the  fellow's  merits  as  the  beechen  remedy.  I  will  there- 
fore agree  to  its  application." 

The  prisoner's  doom  being  thus  unanimously  settled^ 
preparations  were  immediately  commenced  for  carrying 
the  sentence  into  effect.  This  was  understood  to  be,  in 
the  quaint  phrase  of  the  times,  "«■  chastisement  with  the 
twigs  of  the  wilderness"  or  the  usual  number  of  stripes, 
forty,  save  one,  faithfully  applied  to  the  back  of  the 
offender  with  a  green  beech  rod,  termed,  as  before  men- 
tioned, the  Beech-seal.  Several  rods,  or  shoots  of  that 
thus  oddly  consecrated  tree,  were  accordingly  selected, 
cut,  and  carefully  trimmed  for  the  purpose.  The  prisoner 
was  then,  in  despite  of  his  alternate  threats,  and  promises 
of  good  behavior  in  future,  stripped  of  his  coat,  and 
firmly  bound  to  the  body  of  a  large  hemlock,  with  his 
face  turned  to  the  tree.  Everything  being  now  in  readi- 
ness for  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  the  question  arose 
who  should  be  the  executioner.  For  this  honor  two  rival 
candidates  now  presented  themselves — Brown  and  Pete 
Jones— the  former  claiming  it  on  the  ground  that  no  one 
of  the  present  company  had  received  injuries  that  so 
loudly  demanded  a  personal  reciprocation  as  his  own, 
and  the  latter,  with  the  greatest  apparent  gravity,  con- 
tending that  it  was  his  peculiar  right  to  do  the  duty  of 
punishing  the  fellow  for  the  unpardonable  crime  of  miss- 
ing his  aim,  since  the  shot  was  intended  for  his  own 
benefit. 

The  altercation,  however,  was  settled  by  the  interposi- 
tion of  their  leader,  who  good-naturedly  awarded  a  divi- 
sion of  the  honors  between  them,  directing  that  the  first 
twenty  stripes  should  be  given  by  Jones,  while  Brown 
should  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  completing  the  task. 

In  accordance  with  this  arrangement,  the  tall  woods- 
man now  seized  a  rod  of  his  own  preparing,  of  dimen- 
sions fearfully  portentious  to  the  back  of  the  trembling 
culprit,  and  giving  it  a  furious  flourish  in  the  air,  he 
commenced,  with  a  look  of  terrible  fierceness,  the  per- 
formance  of  his  allotted  task.  But  malice  and  revenge 
formed  no  part  of  the  character  of  this  jolly  and  good- 
natured  borderer.  The  manner  in  which  the  blows  were 
given,  and  the  comparativelv  slight  effect  they  ptoduceU 


40  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

en  their  victim,  made  it  very  evident,  that,  notwithstand- 
ing all  his  assumed  wrath  and  fury  of  countenance  and 
manner,  his  humanity,  combined  with  a  natural  love  of 
sport,  which  had  doubtless  led  him  to  solicit  the  office, 
was  about  to  govern  him  in  its  execution. 

"  Well,  here  is  my  respects  to  you,  friend,"  he  said; 
commencing  and  keeping  up  a  sort  of  loose,  irregular  dis- 
course, and  counting  the  blows  in  a  parenthetical  tone, 
as  with  mighty  grins  and  flourishes,  he  proceeded  to 
apply  the  typical  beech ;  "  there  is  my  respects  to  you, 
(one)  miss  your  aim  again,  you  lubber,  eh  ?  (two)  I  told 
you  that  you  shouldn't  disgrace  the  cloth  for  nothing, 
(three)  and  then  (four)  those  kicks,  (five)  T  thought  at  the 
time  (six)  that  you  was  kicking  against  the  pricks, 
(seven,  eight)  so  here  is  two  pricks  to  every  kick,  (eight, 
nine)  scurvy  business  that  of  you,  friend,  (nine,  ten,)  that 
kicking  against  the  trees,  (eleven,  twelve)  you  didn't  con- 
sider (seven — no  eleven)  what  a  hurry  I  was  in,  (twelve, 
thirteen)  and  then  again  that  offering  me  money,  zounds, 
sir!  (thirteen,  fourteen)  I  should  like  (fourteen)  to  know, 
sir " 

"  There !  there ! "  hastily  exclaimed  the  prisoner,  who 
had  not  been  so  much  hurt  amidst  all  this  parade  of  cuts 
and  flourishes  as  to  prevent  his  taking  note  of  the  true 
number  of  the  stripes  which  had  been  administered,  and 
which  the  mischief-loving  woodsman  had  wilfully  mis- 
counted ;  "  hold — you  have  already  struck  twenty — hold  ! 
I  say!" 

"  You  don't  say  so?"  replied  Jones  with  affected  sur- 
prise, as  he  slowly  lowered  his  uplifted  arm ;  "  why  J 
thought  I  said  fourteen — only  fourteen  last !  " 

"  I  care  not  if  you  did,  sir,"  expostulated  the  prisoner, 
now  bold  from  the  consciousness  of  having  at  last  a  little 
truth  on  his  side ;  "  you  miscounted  on  purpose  to  pro- 
long my  torture — I  appeal  to  the  company — you  have 
gone  your  twenty,  I  tell  you,  ruffian ! " 

"  Have!  well,  friend,  just  as  you  say,  not  as  I  care." 

So  saying,  the  eccentric,  but  kind-hearted  woodsman 
hurled  his  rod  iuto  the  lake,  and  bounding  off  into  the 
woods,  with  the  pretended  object  of  procuring  some  bet- 
ter rods  for  the  use  of  his  successor,  but,  in  reality,  only 
to  avoid  the  sight  and  sounds  whicn,  from  the  determined 


THE  GREEX  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  41 

character  and  exasperated  feelings  of  the  man,  he  rightly 
anticipated  would  now  follow,  disappeared,  with  a  nnger 
thrust  into  each  ear,  in  a  neighboring  thicket. 

The  flagellation  was  now  resumed.  And  never  was 
;od  more  effectually  applied  to  the  deserving  back  of  a 
miscreant  spy  or  traitor  than  now  by  the  sinewy  arm  of 
Brown,  doubly  nerved  as  it  was  by  the  keen  sense  he 
harbored  of  the  injuries  he  had  already  received  from  the 
hands  of  those  with  whom  the  present  victim  of  his  pent 
vengeance  had  been  found  leagued,  to  assist  in  dragging 
him  to  a  gallows,  and  thus  completing,  on  his  person,  the 
work  of  destruction  which  they  had  before  commenced  on 
his  property.  With  a  pause  at  every  application  of  the 
rod,  that  no  energy  should  be  lost  or  weakened  by  the 
exertion,  slow  and  measured  fell  the  tremendous  blows 
from  his  relentless  arm,  till  he  had  told  out  the  full  num- 
ber assigned  him  ;  while  at  every  lash  of  the  pliant  and 
close  hugging  instrument  of  torture,  the  writhing  victim 
sent  forth  a  screech  of  agony  that  thrilled  through  the 
forest  for  miles  around  him. 

This  painful  task  being  performed — for  painful  it  was 
to  most  of  the  band,  while  the  stern  necessity  that  re- 
quired it  was  sincerely  regretted  by  them  all — the  prisoner 
was  unbound,  and  with  an  earnest  but  kind  admonition 
from  Warrington  to  profit  by  the  lesson  he  had  received, 
set  at  liberty  ;  when,  muttering  many  a  bitter  execration, 
and  breathing  vows  of  deadliest  revenge  on  his  captors, 
he  sullenly  departed  from  the  camp,  and  soon  disappeared 
along  the  border  of  the  lake  in  a  northern  direction. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"That  strain  againf  it  had  a  dying  fall  t 
Oh,  it  came  o'er  my  ear  lik    the  sweet  south 
That  breathes  upon  a  bank  of  violets, 
Stealing  and  giving  odor." 

After  the  departure  of  Sherwood,  our  band,  not  deem- 
ing it  prudent,  without  precautions  which  must  neces- 
sarily deprive  most  of  them  of  their  rest  for  the  night,  to 
encamp  so  near  an  exasperated  enemy  of  double  their  own 


42         THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

numbers,  determined  on  an  immediate  removal  from  the 
scene  of  their  recent  exploits.  Accordingly  they  packed 
up,  and  without  further  delay,  commenced  their  march 
by  the  beautiful  moonlight,  which,  streaming  brightly 
through  the  leafless  forest,  enabled  them  to  pursue  theii 
way  with  as  much  ease  and  certainty  as  by  the  broadest 
daylight.  Striking  off  westerly  from  the  lake  they 
directed  their  course  to  the  nearest  part  of  Otter  Creek, 
where  they  proposed  procuring  quarters  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  night  in  the  log  houses  of  the  only  two  families 
who  resided  on  the  Creek  in  that  vicinity.  These  two 
houses  were  situated  nearly  a  mile  apart,  while  the  respec- 
tive openings  around  them  were  separated  by  a  dense 
wood  of  evergreens  of  about  half  that  distance  in  extent. 
After  proceeding  on  together  awhile,  the  company  sepa- 
rated into  two  parties,  three  of  them  bending  their  course 
towards  the  lowest  or  more  northerly  opening,  where  they 
were  to  remain  till  joined  in  the  morning  by  their  leader, 
to  conduct  them  on  their  enterprise  down  the  Creek  ; 
while  the  latter,  with  Selden,  taking  their  venison  and  a 
goodly  portion  of  their  trout,  continued  forward  directly 
to  the  upper  clearing.  This  last  was  no  other  than  the 
residence  of  the  fair  and  spirited  friend,  whose  timely 
notice  had  not  only  ensured  their  late  escape,  but  enabled 
them  to  gain  such  triumphant  advantages  over  their  foes. 
And  it  was  this  friendly  and  patriotic  act  which  they 
were  now  proceeding  to  reward,  not  only  with  suitable 
acknowledgment,  but  with  the  most  valuable  portion  of 
their  game — an  offering  that  they  supposed  would  be 
highly  acceptable  to  one  in  her  situation ;  for  this  extra^ 
ordinary  woman,*  with  no  other  dependence  than  on  her 
own  hands,  with  the  slight  assistance  rendered  her  by 
her  boys,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  not  a  dozen  years  old, 
was  managing  to  support  herself  and  he  •  large  family  of 
children  from  the  products  of  a  new  lot  of  land  which  her 
husband  had  commenced  clearing  when  he  lost  his  life 
by  the  fall  of  a  tree,  and  which  she  now  with  unexampled 
fortitude  persisted  in  improving,  though  in  the  heart  of  a 

*  An  old  settler,  to  whom  Mrs.  Story  and  her  cave  were  per- 
sonally known,  described  her  to  the  anthor  as  "  a  busting  great 
woman,  who  would  cut  off  a  two  foot  log  as  quick  as  any  man  in 
th£  tettlaruanL" 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  48 

wilderness  infested  with  wild  beasts,  and  not  wholly  ex- 
empt from  the  hostile,  or  at  least  predatory  incursions  of 
the  Indians.  It  was  nearly  midnight  when  Warrington 
and  his  companion  reached  the  log  tenement  of  this  fear- 
less daughter  of  the  wilds.  Much  to  their  surprise  they 
found  the  house  entirely  deserted.  Finding  the  door  un. 
fastened,  however,  they  determined  on  entering  to  note 
appearances  Avithin  ;  when  it  became  evident  that  the 
desertion  had  taken  place  but  a  few  hours  before .  but 
whether  it  was  intended  for  a  temporary  or  final  removal 
they  were  unable  to  determine.  A  bed  of  coals,  yet  alive, 
was  raked  up  on  the  hearth  ;  while  the  beds  had  been 
taken  from  the  steads,  and,  with  a.,  the  most  necessary 
utensils  of  family  use,  removed  from  the  house. 

"What  means  this  sudden  desertion  of  the  family?" 
observed  Warrington,  musingly;  "and  whither  can  they 
have  fled  ?  " 

"  To  their  neighbor's,  down  the  Creek,  probably,"  re- 
plied Selden;  "the  movement  has  been  made,  I  should 
conjecture,  in  anticipation  of  the  return  of  Munroe  and 
his  party,  from  whose  visit  to-night,  a  lone  woman,  like 
this  widow,  would  doubtless  wish  to  be  excused." 

"it  may  be  so,"  rejoined  the  other,  "but  to  quit  her 
home  from  any  of  the  motives  which  you  suggest  would 
be  very  little  like  widow  Story ;  there  are  few  men  in 
this  settlement  who  can  handle  not  only  axe,  but  rifle, 
with  more  effect,  though  woman  she  be.  And  as  for  fear, 
it  is  a  sensation  with  which,  I  verily  believe,  she  is  utterly 
unacquainted.  But  whatever  may  have  become  of  the 
occupants  of  the  house,  we  may  as  well,  now  we  are  here, 
make  free  and  remain  for  the  night." 

"It  will  be  considered  no  intrusion,  I  suppose?"  en- 
quiringly said  Selden;  "I  have  not  the  honor  of  an  ac- 
quaintance with  your  heroine,  you  will  bear  in  mind." 

"  Intrusion  ?  not  in  the  least ;  for  you  must  know  that 
we  are  patriots  here, — rebels  or  whatever  we  were  on  the 
lake  to-night,"  jocosely  replied  Warrington. 

"  Patriotism,"  said  Selden,  following  up  the  train  of 
thought  which  the  last  remark  suggested,  "would  seem 
entirely  a  relative  term,  and  like  beauty,  which  consists 
of  black  teeth,  thick  lips  and  large  eyes  with  one  nation, 
and  exactly  the  reverse  with  another,  wholly  dependent 


44  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

on  the  pre-existing  opinions  of  those  who  claim  it  w>* 
this  action,  and  deny  it  in  that.  Besides  this,  as  the. 
world  estimates  actions,  success  would  seem  to  be  quite 
as  essential  to  constitute  the  patriot  as  the  merits  of  his 
cause  or  the  glory  of  his  deeds.  Here,  with  the  settlers, 
you  are  indeed  called  a  patriot,  and  surely  there  is  no  one 
who  better  deserves  from  them  the  appellation ;  while 
with  the  people  of  New  York  you  are  a  rebel,  outlaw, 
and  hunted  like  a  wild  beast.  And  yet,  if  our  cause  prove 
successful,  as  Heaven  grant  it  may,  the  world  at  large, 
coming  in  as  umpire,  will  side  with  the  settlers  in  estab- 
lishing your  name  as  a  patriot ;  but  if  we  fail  it  will  join 
with  your  foes  in  declaring  you  a  rebel  and  reckless 
factionist." 

"  Names  and  definitions,  Selden,  may  be  sometimes 
vague  and  varying,  but  principles  are  immutable.  The 
principles  which  actuate  us  in  resisting  these  encroach- 
ments on  our  rights,  are  the  same  that  have  animated 
the  bosoms  of  all  those  whom  the  world  agree  in  calling 
patriots,  from  the  beginning  of  oppression  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  disposition  to  defend  our  homes  and 
property,  besides  being  implanted  in  our  bosoms  as  a  law 
of  our  nature,  indispensable  to  our  self-protection,  and 
even  existence  in  the  world,  seems  to  have  been  ordained 
by  Providence  also  as  the  natural  means  by  which  the 
rapacity  of  tyrants  should  be  punished.  This,  indeed,  is 
the  only  protection  ensured  to  industry  and  virtue — it 
constitutes  the  grand  cement  of  society,  and  the  main  pil- 
lars of  all  government.  This  is  the  foundation  of  patri- 
otism, which  consists  only  in  the  defence  of  justly  ac- 
quired rights  against  wrongful  aggressions.  In  our  case, 
the  opinions  of  the  world  may  indeed  be  various  and 
fluctuating  till  our  rights  become  fairly  understood,  and 
the  wrongs  we  have  received  as  fairly  developed.  But 
should  men  of  the  intelligence  to  know,  and  the  spirit  to 
defend  their  rights,  stand  tamely  still,  and  see  those 
rights  wrested  from  them,  to  be  placed  forever  beyond 
their  recovery,  while  hesitating  to  know  whether  the 
world  will  call  their  resistance  patriotism  or  rebellion  ? 
It  is  not  the  name  of  patriot  that  1  seek,  or  that  of  rebel 
or  outlaw  that  I  fear.  It  is  results  I  am  aiming  to  ac- 
complish, and  I  will  never  rest,  nor  cease  my  exertions 


THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  45 

till  cur  heaven-favored  cause  shall  triumph,  and  these 
rapacious  intruders  shall  be  driven  from  our  soil.  Could 
you  have  witnessed,  as  I  have,  the  dismay,  want,  and 
suffering,  which  these  grasping  and  shameless  tyrants 
have  occasioned  in  this  settlement — here,  whole  families 
turned  from  their  houses  in  the  midst  of  winter,  with  no 
human  habitation  within  miles  of  them  to  flee  to  for 
refuge  and  shelter — there,  property,  acquired  through 
the  severest  of  toil,  hardship,  and  privation,  wantonly 
destroyed,  houses  set  on  fire  and  consumed  to  prevent 
the  return  of  the  owners — and  then  again,  females  abused, 
and  even  the  sick  roughly  ejected,  and  left  to  perish 
miserably  in  the  night  air,  or  storm,  for  all  these  ruth- 
less  aggressors  could  know — could  you  have  witnessed 
all  this,"  you  would  not  be  surprised  at  the  exasperated 
feelings  of  our  people,  or  the  indomitable  spirit  with 
which  they  have  persevered  in  that  cause,  which  brought 
you,  till  lately  a  stranger  to  our  wrongs,  among  us  to  aid 
in  sustaining.  31  y  personal  interest,  I  know,  suffers  in 
consequence  of  devoting  so  much  of  my  time  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  public.  Indeed,  I  have,  in  common  with  my 
chivalrous  superior,  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  almost  wholly 
neglected  my  own  concerns,  while  guarding  the  interests 
of  others.  Even  now  I  am  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of 
land  on  the  borders  of  Champlain,  a  part  of  which,  as  I 
have  lately  been  apprised,  has  been  for  several  years  in 
possession  of  one  of  the  York  patentees,  while  my  duties 
nearer  home  have  prevented  me  from  ever  looking  after 
it,  or  taking,  since  making  this  discovery,  any  steps 
towards  dispossessing  the  intruder." 

"But  you  surely  will  neglect  it  no  longer,"  observed 
5he  other;  "since  we  are  going  into  the  vicinity,  and  on 
similar  business?" 

"We  will  consider  the  case  after  we  have  righted  the 
wrongs  of  the  houseless  settlers  at  the  Lower  Falls,  and 
fulfilled  the  other  objects  of  our  mission  into  this  region. 
But  let  us  drop  this  exciting  subject  for  to-night,  that 
we  may  obtain  a  little  rest  to  prepare  us  for  the  duties 
of  to-morrow,"  replied  Warrington,  now  rising  to  make 
such  scanty  preparations  as  might  be  required  for  their 
repose. 

ThetTFo  friends,  after  barricading  the  door,  and  spread- 


46  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

lng  their  blankets  before  the  small  fire  they  had  kindled 
on  entering  the  house,  now  laid  down  to  repose  on  the 
floor,  which  to  the  hardy  and  tired  woodsman  is  generally 
more  grateful  than  beds  of  the  softest  down  to  the  pam- 
pered sons  of  luxury  and  ease.  Selden  was  soon  lost  in 
slumber.  But  his  companion,  whose  mind  was  oppressed 
with  more  weighty  cares,  and  whose  feelings  had  become 
somewhat  excited  in  recounting  the  wrongs  of  his  country- 
men, courted  the  drowsy  god  in  vain.  And  these  causes, 
together  with  his  attempts  to  account  for  the  absence  of 
the  family,  for  whose  safety  he  was  not  wholly  without  ap- 
prehensions, continuing  for  some  time  to  render  all  his 
endeavors  to  sleep  useless,  he  arose,  unbarred  the  door, 
and,  without  waking  his  more  fortunate  companion,  went 
out  into  the  open  air  to  try  the  effect  of  the  cool  breath 
of  heaven  in  allaying  the  excitement  of  his  feelings,  and 
disposing  him  to  slumber.  The  night  still  continued 
bright  and  lovely.  Abroad,  nature  seemed  sunk  in  death- 
like repose;  while  the  deep,  and  solemn  silence  that  per- 
vaded the  wilderness  was  broken  only  by  the  low,  but 
far-sounding  hoot  of  the  sylvan  watchman  of  the  night, 
or  the  voices  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  pools, 
who  were  straining  their  tiny  throats,  in  notes  of  seem- 
ing joy  and  jubilee  at  their  recent  release  from  a  wintry 
thraldom.  While  contemplating  the  scene  around  him, 
and  indulging  in  the  moody  reverie  which  the  circum- 
stances were  calculated  to  create  in  the  mind,  the  young 
outlaw  unconsciously  wandered  nearly  to  the  bank  of  the 
river,  which  was  still  bordered  by  a  strip  of  forest,  ex- 
tending from  the  water  back  almost  to  the  house.  Here, 
leaning  against  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree,  which  some 
heavy  wind  had  broken  off  about  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground,  he  stood  some  minutes  looking  listlessly  down 
upon  the  placid  waters,  as,  sparkling,  in  the  moonlight 
that  struggled  through  the  trees  above,  they  moved  cease- 
lessly along  on  their  journey  to  the  deep.  Now  his  atten- 
tion would  become  riveted  for  a  moment  on  some  light 
float  of  wood  sweeping  by  in  the  noiseless  current.  And 
now  he  would  turn  a  half  listening  ear  to  the  sportive 
plunges  of  the  otter,  here  once  found  in  such  numbers  as 
to  have  naturally  suggested  to  the  hunters  who  first 
visited  this  stream  the  name  which  it  bears.    His  medita- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  47 

tions,  however,  were  at  length  interrupted  by  some  in- 
distinct, and  at  first  scarcely  audible  sounds,  the  nature 
of  which  he  was  for  some  time  wholly  unable  to  deter- 
mine. At  last,  however,  he  became  satisfied  it  could  be 
no  other  than  the  distinct  murmur  of  human  voices  ;  but 
from  wbat  quarter  it  came  he  was  still  unable  to  decide. 
He  listened  intently ;  and  now  the  sounds  became  more 
distinct.  Presently  they  began  to  swell  on  the  air  in  the 
low,  melodious  voice  of  a  female  chanting  a  tune,  which, 
though  not  recently  heard  by  him,  struck  nevertheless 
familiarly  on  his  ear,  awakening  in  his  mind  reminiscences 
of  persons,  time,  and  place,  which  formerly  occupied 
a  prominent  space  among  the  objects  of  his  peculiar 
interest,  but  which,  in  the  cares  and  turmoils  of  the 
last  few  years,  had  been  almost  forgotten.  Starting  as 
from  a  trance,  he  rallied  his  doubting  senses,  and  made 
another  effort  to  ascertain  whence  this  mysterious  music 
could  proceed,  but  with  no  better  success  than  before. 
Sometimes  the  sounds  seemed  to  come  from  the  earth,  or 
some  subterraneous  cavern  far  beneath  his  feet.  At  other 
times  the  liquid  notes  appeared  floating  high  in  the  heav- 
ens above.  He  now  took  another  position,  several  paces 
distant  from  the  one  first  occupied,  to  see  whether  any 
variation  would  thus  be  produced  in  the  sounds.  Here, 
however,  they  were  scarcely  audible.  Several  other  new 
positions  were  then  tried,  but  all  with  the  same  success ; 
and  he  returned  to  the  tree  where  he  was  standing  when 
his  attention  was  first  arrested  by  these  unaccountable 
sounds.  Here  he  again  taxed  his  powers  of  hearing  to 
their  utmost,  when,  to  his  increasing  wonder,  the  same 
melodious  notes  fell  upon  his  ear  even  more  distinctly  than 
before.  Now,  not  only  the  tune  seemed  familiar  to  him, 
but  there  was  something  in  the  voice  likewise  which  his 
bewildered  senses  seemed  to  recognize — something  that 
seemed  to  touch  a  chord  in  his  bosom  that  had  never  vi- 
brated save  under  the  sweet  intonations  of  one  whose 
words  even  were  once  music  to  his  ears — but  still  one,  to 
heighten  his  perplexity,  who,  though  her  residence  had 
long  been  unknown  to  him,  could  not  yet  be,  he  felt  as- 
sured, within  a  hundred  miles  of  this  spot.  Curiosity,  sur- 
prise, and  wonder  had  now  raised  his  feelings  to  a  pitch  of 
almost  frantic  excitement ;  and,  without  scarcely  knowing 


48  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

why,  he  struck  his  clenched  fist  two  or  three  times  heavily 
against  the  tree,  which  seemed  so  strangely  the  conductor 
of  the  sounds  in  question.  A  deep,  hollow,  reverberation, 
indicating  a  large  and  extended  cavity  within,  was  appar- 
ently theonly  effect  produced  by  the  blows.  On  applying 
his  ear  once  more,  however,  lie  found  that  the  singing  had 
ceased  ;  and  every  sound  was  now  hushed  in  silence.  He 
listened  awhile  with  suspended  breath,  in  expectation  of 
hearing  the  music  resumed.  But  he  listened  in  vain.  He 
then  renewed  the  experiment  of  listening  from  other  posi- 
tions ;  but  being  again  unsuccessful,  he  returned  to  the 
tree,  and  fell  to  beating  it  again,  in  the  absurd  fancy  that, 
Tf  there  had  been  any  connection  between  his  blows  and 
".he  ceasing  of  the  sounds,  the  same  operation  which  had 
caused  them  to  cease  might  revive  them,  though  deeming 
It,  at  the  same  time,  an  utter  impossibility  that  the  cavity 
within  the  trunk  could  contain  the  invisible  songstress. 
All  his  efforts,  however,  to  gain  a  clue  to  the  mystery 
proved  wholly  fruitless,  and,  after  lingering  some  time 
near  this  spot  of  seeming  enchantment,  he  slowly  wan- 
iered  back  to  the  house,  deeply  pondering  over  the  singu- 
lar and  incomprehensible  incident  which  had  attended  his 
nocturnal  ramble.  Was  it  within  the  bounds  of  possibil- 
ity, he  asked  himself,  that  the  person,  the  once  loved  and 
lost  one,  whose  voice  these  mysterious  notes  so  much  re- 
sembled, could  now  be  in  this  almost  uninhabited  wilder- 
ness ?  No,  no !  What  other  female,  then,  capable  of  such 
execution,  could  be  near  at  such  an  hour  of  the  night? 
Surely  none !  Was  it  not,  then,  a  human  voice  that  he 
had  heard  ? — Was  it  the  voice  of  an  angel,  of  "  visits  few 
and  far  between,"  floating  high  in  the  heavens,  and  hymn- 
ing  the  stars  ?  What  had  he  done  to  deserve  such  special 
revealment?  Or  was  it,  as  the  traditions  of  the  super- 
stitious would  inculcate,  the  voice  of  a  departing  spirit, 
permitted  to  break  on  the  ear  of  a  distant  friend  at  the 
instant  of  departure,  for  the  purpose  of  apprising  him  of 
its  exit  from  earth,  or  warning  him  of  his  own  dissolu- 
tion ?  Or  was  it  not  far  more  probable,  he  said,  with  an 
effort  to  shake  off  these  intruding  fancies,  that  his  senses 
had  deceived  him ;  and  that,  after  all,  the  whole  was  but 
the  work  of  an  over-excited  imagination?  It  must  have 
been  so.    And,  as  if  determined  to  satisfy  himself  with 


/  THE ''GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  49 

this  last  solution  of  the  subject,  since  he  could  hit  upon 
no  other  which  reason  would  not  sooner  reject,  he  quick- 
ened his  pace,  and  like  one  resolved  to  end  a  perplexing 
inquiry  by  the  best  argument  he  can  give,  and  call  it  con- 
clusive, bustled  forward,  now  whistling  a  tune,  or  now 
affecting  to  run  over  to  himself  the  intended  business  of 
to-morrow,  till  he  had  reached  the  house,  secured  the  door, 
and  thrown  himself  down  beside  his  still  insensible  com- 
panion, when  exhausted  nature  soon  closed  the  scene  in 
a  profound  slumber. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  If  you  had  been  the  wife  of  Hercules, 
Six  of  his  labors  you'd  have  done,  and  sav'd 
Your  husband  so  much  sweat." 

CORIOLANUS. 

Real  causes  of  excitement  have  frequently,  and  per- 
haps generally,  been  found  to  produce  the  soundest  slum- 
ber ;  while  those  that  are  artificial,  or  imaginary,  have  an 
equal  tendency  to  prevent  it,  Doctor  Young's  poetic  phi- 
losophy to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  It  was  thus 
with  Warrington.  While  the  images  of  the  past  and  the 
future,  which  fancy  had  called  up,  were  operating  in  his 
bosom,  he  vainly  sought  the  arms  of  "  tired  nature's  sweet 
restorer."  But  after  he  had  found  a  just  cause  for  excite- 
ment, and  experienced  the  utmost  of  its  legitimate  effects, 
that  restorer  came  unbidden  and  instantly.  And  the  next 
morning  was  considerably  advanced  before  he  and  his 
companion  awoke  from  the  deep  and  sense-absorbing 
slumbers  which,  for  many  hours,  had  sealed  their  every 
faculty  in  blank  oblivion.  They  simultaneously  arose, 
and  went  to  the  window  to  ascertain  from  whom  pro- 
ceeded the  noise  of  the  axe,  whose  heavy,  resounding 
blows,  in  the  adjoining  forest,  had  first  awakened  them 
from  their  quiet  repose.  At  the  border  of  the  woods,  a 
short  distance  to  the  south  of  the  house,  and  in  plain 
sight  of  their  loop-hole,  for  the  window  was  nothing  more, 
stood  the  amazon  owner,  and  almost  sole  creator  of  this 
little  opening  in  the  dark  wilderness,  plying  her  axe,  with 
masculine  dexterity  and  effect,  into  the  huge  trunk  of  a 

A 


60  /HE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

standing  hemlock.  In  a  short  time  this  princely  tenaat 
of  the  Green  Mountain  forest  began  to  tremble,  totter, 
and  bow  beneath  the  supple  arm  of  its  life-sapping  foe, 
and  at  length  came  down  with  a  thundering  crash  upon 
the  ground,  filling  the  air  around  with  a  cloud  of  dust, 
splinters,  broKen  and  powdered  limbs,  and  causing  the 
earth  and  surrounding  woods  to  rebound  at  the  shock. 
When  the  obstructing  cloud  had  cleared  away  from  the 
spot,  our  observant  friends  beheld  the  object  of  their  at- 
tention mounted  on  the  trunk  of  the  prostrate  tree,  and 
proceeding  to  mark  it  off  into  such  lengths  for  chopping, 
as  suited  her  purpose.  While  thus  engaged,  her  atten- 
tion seemed  to  be  suddenly  arrested  by  something  she 
observed  about  the  house,  or  in  a  line  with  it  beyond 
Hastily  descending  from  her  stand  on  the  trunk,  and  seizing 
her  rifle,  which  stood  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  near  the  stump 
of  the  one  just  felled,  she  approached  with  a  rapid  step,  and 
with  some  appearance  of  concern,  till  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  house,  when  she  slackened  her  pace  and  soon  halted. 

"Tall,  stout,  and  stately,"  said  Selden,  still  standing 
with  his  friend  so  near  the  window  as  to  have  a  fair 
view  of  the  person  of  their  hostess ;  "  tall,  stout,  and 
stately,"  he  repeated,  running  his  admiring  eye  over  her 
erect  and  imposing  figure;  face  and  features  even  yet 
handsome,  despite  the  ravages  and  cares  of  forty !  And 
then  that  queenly  port !  Heavens  !  what  a  specimen  ol 
Eve's  daughters !  Surely,  Warrington,  she  must  be  the 
very  Juno  of  your  Green  Mountains  !  But  why  not  unbar 
the  door  and  go  out  to  meet  her  ?  We  shall  appear  a 
pretty  brace  of  heroes,  if  she  come  here  and  find  us  hid 
up  like  a  couple  of  runaways !  She  has  perceived  us  I 
presume,  but  is  doubtful  whether  we  are  friends  or  foes  " 

"  Stay  a  moment,"  said  the  other,  who  had  been  re« 
garding  the  movements  of  the  woman  quite  as  intensely  as 
his  friend,  though  for  different  purposes;  "I  suspect  you 
will  soon  see  that  other  objects  than  ourselves  are  en- 
grossing  her  attention." 

Scarcely  had  the  last  speaker  ceased,  when  they  caught 
an  oblique  view  of  the  approaching  forms  of  a  number  of 
men,  whom  they  instantly  recognized  to  be  Munroe  and 
his  party      Hastily   retreating  from  the  window,  an** 


THE  GHEES  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  &1 

preparing  their  arms  for  action,  should  their  use  become 
necessary  either  for  defending  themselves  within  the 
house,  or  protecting  their  hostess  without,  our  two 
friends  took  positions  at  small  apertures  between  the  logs 
of  the  wall,  where,  without  revealing  themselves,  they 
could  easily  ohserve  their  foes,  and  stood  silently  watch- 
ing the  progress  of  events  in  the  yard.  Meanwhile  the 
hardy  widow  had  planted  herself  directly  in  the  path  in 
which  the  Yorkers  were  approaching  from  the  main 
road  to  her  door.  And  now  boldly  advancing  and  con- 
fronting them,  she  demanded  what  might  he  their 
object  in  turning  into  a  lone  woman's  dwelling. 

"  Why,  my  good  woman,"  said  the  sheriff,  pausing  and 
Hesitating  in  evident  surprise  at  the  commanding  appear- 
ance and  determined  tone  of  the  person  he  was  address- 
ing; "we  are  all  as  hungry  as  so  many  kites,  after  the 
long  morning's  march  we  have  had;  and  now  can't  you 
contrive  to  work  up  something  in  the  shape  of  a  break- 
fast for  us?" 

"I  know  of  hut  two  reasons,  sir,  why  I  may  not  comply 
with  your  request,"  replied  the  woman,  with  an  air  of 
quiet  scorn. 

"And  what  may  they  be,  woman?"  asked  Monroe,  in 
donbt  as  to  the  drift  of  her  discourse. 

"The  lack  of  means,  and  the  lack  of  inclination,  sh," 
rejoined  the  other  in  the  same  calm  and  scornful  manner. 

"  Short  and  sweet,"  said  Munroe ;  "  but  I  think  we 
can  remove  your  objections  easily  enough,  mistress ;  my 
men  here  have  a  plenty  of  salt  junk,  and  some  bread, 
which  will  make  out  the  main  materials  for  a  meal ;  so 
you  will  have  nothing  to  do  but  cook  and  serve  up  for  us, 
and  if  we  pay  you  well  for  your  trouble  this  will  cure 
both  your  objections  at  once  I  suppose." 

"  Think  you,  sir,  I  would  be  hired  to  serve  a  Yorker  of 
your  stamp  ?  "replied  the  woman,  with  increasing  dis- 
dain ;  "  why  the  money  got  in  that  manner  would  burn 
through  my  pockets  as  quick  as  if  it  came  at  the  call  of 
one  inleague  with  the  arch  fiend,  and  all  hissing  hot  from 
the  burning  mint  in  the  regions  below  !  Even  the  very 
food  bought  with  it  would  stick  in  my  throat,  and  poison 
my  children  to  death  in  the  eating." 

**  Tut,  tut  I  madam  madcap  *  "  exclaimed  the  sheriff, 


52  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

resuming  his  wonted  roughness,  and  now  beginning  to 
chafe  under  the  biting  sarcasm  of  the  other;  "you  show 
about  as  much  of  the  tartar  as  anything  I  have  met  with 
in  my  travels  for  a  long  while.  I  wish  the  rebels  much  joy 
in  their  petticoat  champion!  But  it  is  time  to  look  a  little 
to  such  as  you.  The  authorities  of  the  king  are  neither 
to  be  resisted  nor  insulted  with  impunity  you  will  do  well 
to  bear  in  mind,  perhaps." 

"Cowards  are  always  allowed  the  privilege  of  bluster- 
ing before  women,"  tartly  rejoined  the  other;  "your  threats, 
valiant  sheriff,  will  hurt  me  about  as  much,  probably,  as 
they  frighten  me,  and  if  anything  further  is  attempted,  you 
will  find  I  can  defend  myself." 

"We  will  see,  my  trooper!"  muttered  Munroe,  making  a 
sudden  movement  towards  the  other,  apparently  to  disarm 
or  seize  her. 

Eluding  his  grasp,  and  hastily  retreating  a  few  steps, 
the  fearless  woman  cocked  her  rifle  and  brought  it  to  her 
shoulder.  "Another  step  towards  me,  sir,  and  your  blood 
be  on  your  own  head,"  she  cried,  in  a  cool  determined 
tone. 

"Hang  me!"  exclaimed  Munroe,  after  standing  a  mo- 
ment in  mute  surprise  at  this  bold  and  unexpected  move- 
ment of  the  woman,  who,  he  began  to  suspect,  could  scarcely 
have  been  brought  to  show  such  singular  fearlessness,  but 
from  a  knowledge  that  help  was  near:  "hang  me  if  I  don't 
believe  the  termagent  is  standing  guard  to  some  of  these 
skulking  outlaws,  whom  she  has  concealed  in  the  house! 
We  must  see  to  this  immediately,"  he  continued,  moving 
round  his  opponent  toward  the  house,  and  beckoning  his 
men  to  follow. 

i  "0,  is  that  all  you  want,"  said  the  widow,  taking  her 
piece,  in  her  hand,  and  moving  aside  with  the  air  of  one 
relieved  from  a  personal  fear;  "you  are  welcome  to  all  the 
outlaws  you  will  find  here,  but  you  must  beware  how  you 
attempt  to  touch  me.  However,  you  had  better  look  out  for 
yourself,  brave  sheriff,"  she  added  in  a  sneering  laugh; 
"take  care,  sir,  that  some  of  those  terrible  Green  Mountain 
Boys  concealed  within  there,  don't  blow  you  through  the 
head  with  their  rifles!" 

1  "The  door  is  fastened,  woman,"  said  Munroe,  as  step- 
ping up,  he  tried  in  vain  to  open  it;  "the  door  is  fast- 


THE  GliEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  53 

ened  on  the  inside ;  see  that  it  is  opened,  or  I  will  force 
it!  " 

"O,  no,  no!  why,  you  would  spoil  my  door,  man!" 
cried  the  widow,  with  the  utmost  apparent  concern  for 
the  safety  of  her  door;  "yes,  rain  it  entirely,  't  would 
cost  me  a  hard  dollar  to  get  it  mended.  I  forgot  to  tell 
you  it  was  barred  up  inside.  We  do  not  stay  here  nights 
for  fear  of  the  visits  of  such  strolling  gentry  as  your- 
selves. But  if  you  really  wish  to  handle  over  my  greasy 
pots  and  kettles,  or  crawl  under  my  beds  you  can  go  in  as  I 
came  out,  by  going  up  on  the  ends  of  the  logs  at  the 
corner  yonder,  and  removing  a  piece  of  that  bark  root." 

"  But  honestly,  woman,  have  you  seen  nothing  of  "War- 
rington and  his  band  this  way  last  night,  or  this  morn- 
ing?" asked  the  sheriff,  his  suspicions  seeming  to  be 
pretty  much  allayed  b}r  the  well  managed  demeanor  and 
conduct  of  the  other. 

"  Warrington — Warrington,"  said  she,  musingly  as  if 
attempting  to  recall  the  name  of  one  of  whom  she  might 
have  perhaps  heard;  "not  Captain  Warrington  ?  Yes,  I 
have  heard  of  him  I  am  sure.  Is  he  in  this  section9 
Where  is  he?  I  should  like  to  see  that  brave  fellow. 
Why,  he  was  the  one  that  so  handsomely  beech-sealed  one 
of  the  York  authorities  down  Bennington  way,  last  year 
■ — now  what  was  his  name — I  will  think  in  a  minute " 

"O,  no  matter,  no  matter,"  hastily  interrupted  the 
sheriff,  unwilling  that  the  story  of  his  own  former  dis- 
comfiture should  be  made  known  to  his  present  followers  ; 
"  come,  boys,"  he  continued,  moving  away  from  the  house 
and  calling  to  his  men;  "  we  shan't  be  able  to  make  any- 
thing of  this  crabstick  of  a  woman,  so  we  may  as  well  be 
on  the  move  again,  and  as  we  have  lost  our  guide,  instead 
of  going  back  through  the  woods,  we  will  go  up  the  Creek 
to  the  ford,  and  then  down  the  military  road  to  Ticon- 
deroga." 

"Adroitly  done,  by  heavens  !  "  exclaimed  Selden  to  his 
companion,  as  the  sounds  of  the  retreating  footsteps  of 
their  foes  died  away  on  their  ears ;  "  the  woman's  tact 
has  saved  us,  to  say  the  least,  Captain,  from  a  trouble- 
some contest.     But  shall  I  now  unbar  the  door?" 

"  N"o — let  her  continue  to  manage  in  her  own  way," 
replied  the  other ;  "  the  Yorkers  may  take  it  into  their 


54  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

heads  to  stop  and  reconnoitre  the  house  a  while  from 
the  woods.  And  she  may  deem  it  prudent  to  guard 
against  their  making  any  discoveries  in  that  way  by 
remaining  a  while  without,  or  by  entering  the  house 
in  the  manner  she  pointed  out  to  Munroe." 

The  woodswoman,  if  the  term  be  admissible,  wary  as 
she  was  fearless,  immediately  adopted  one  of  the  precau- 
tions anticipated  by  Warrington.  And  the  sheriff  and 
his  posse  had  no  sooner  fairly  disappeared  in  the  forest 
than  our  friends  heard  her  mounting  the  house,  removing 
one  of  the  broad  pieces  of  spruce  bark  which  constituted 
the  rude  covering  of  the  roof,  and  descending  into  the 
chamber  or  garret  above  them.  In  another  moment  she 
stood  before  them  with  a  countenance  animated  with  a 
look  of  triumph  and  a  smile  of  congratulation. 

"Now  a  thousand  thanks  to  Mistress  Story,"  warmly 
exclaimed  Warrington,  after  presenting  his  friend  and 
exchanging  the  ordinary  salutations ;  "  a  thousand  thanks, 
not  only  for  yesterday's  timely  notice,  but  for  the  shield 
which  a  woman's  tact  only  could  have  so  successfully 
thrown  over  us  this  morning!  But  how  came  you  ap- 
prised that  we  were  in  possession  of  your  castle,  as  we 
were  without  the  shadow  of  a  license  from  its  owner?" 

"  Partly  anticipating  a  visit  from  some  of  you,"  replied 
the  widow,  "  I  purposely  left  the  door  unfastened  when 
we  left  last  night.  And  a  peep  through  the  cracks  when 
I  returned  this  morning,  and  found  it  barred,  told  me 
very  nearly  the  character  of  the  occupants.  But  you 
don't  know,"  she  added,  jocosely,  "how  sorely  I  was 
tempted,  as  I  saw  you  lying  there  on  the  floor  asleep,  as 
helpless  as  children,  to  creep  in,  bind  you,  deliver  you 
over  to  Munroe,  and  claim  the  reward  !  " 

"  When  you  were  praying, '  lead  us  not  into  temptation,' 
at  this  moment  of  your  trial,"  said  Warrington,  laugh- 
ingly, "  and  thought  of  the  next  sentence,  '  deliver  us  from 
evil,'  you  concluded  it  best  to  take  sides  with  the  Greeu 
Mountain  Boys, — did  you  ?  " 

"  Why,"  replied  she,  "it  might  certainly  be  a  matter  of 
some  consideration,  who  it  were  wisest  to  make  friends 
and  who  foes,  in  such  a  case ;  and  especially  so  since  it 
now  seems  that  ten  Yorkers  can  be  put  to  flight  by  one 
old  woman." 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  55 

"  Ay,  ay  !  "  gayly  responded  the  Captain  ;  "  and  that 
fact,  sir,"  he  added,  turning  with  an  arch  look  to  Selden, 
"  shows  the  wisdom  of  the  doubts  and  apprehensions  you 
seemed  to  entertain  last  night  in  approaching,  without 
leave,  the  house  of  one  who  might  become  so  formidable 
a  foe." 

"  I  should  be  sorry  to  spoil  the  Captain's  joke,"  replied 
Selden,  in  the  same  spirit ;  "  but  in  taking  possession  thus 
unceremoniously,  I  think  we  both  depended  somewhat  on 
the  effect  of  the  peace-offering  we  brought,"  he  continued, 
pointing  to  the  game  suspended  on  the  wall,  "  in  appeas- 
ing  the  household  gods  for  the  outrage." 

"An  ample  atonement!  "  said  the  dame,  "so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  I  suspect  my  nine  little  hungry  household 
gods  will  think  the  obligation  wholly  on  their  side.  Yes, 
yes,  that  mark  of  your  kindness,  gentlemen,  I  noticed 
when  I  took  my  stolen  peep  in  here,  and  my  heart  has 
been  thanking  you  ever  since;  for  my  larder,  as  you  may 
well  imagine,  is  none  of  the  fullest,  considering  the  num- 
ber depending  upon  it.  It  makes  my  heart  ache  to  put 
the  little  kites  on  so  short  an  allowance,  as  I  am  often 
compelled  to  do  here,  in  a  place  so  difficult  to  obtain  pro- 
visions." 

"  But  where  are  your  children  ?  "  asked  "Warrington. 

«  My  children  ?  all  in  T other  World,  sir !  "  replied  the 
woman,  with  a  sort  of  mock  gravity. 

"  In  the  other  world !  what  can  the  woman  mean  ? " 
asked  Warrington,  turning  a  puzzled  look  upon  his  hos- 
tess. "  But  for  the  mention  you  have  just  made  of  your 
children,  and  your  roguish  looks,  which  belie  your  asser- 
tions, one  might  be  startled  at  the  import  of  your  words  !  " 

"  Not  so  much  of  a  belieing,  neither,"  said  the  woman, 
"  but  come,  we  will  open  Sesame  now,"  she  continued,  pro- 
ceeding to  unbar  the  door,  "  and  after  seeing  if  my  brood 
cannot  be  conjured  back  into  the  world  again,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assisting  me,  and  quieting  your  apprehensions  for 
their  safety,  Captain,  we  will  see  what  can  be  done  in  the 
way  of  breakfast." 

"  Let  me  attend  you  to  witness  the  process  of  conjura- 
tion," said  Warrington,  who  had  more  reasons  for  making 
the  request  than  were  known  to  either  of  his  companions. 

11  Jfo,  sir.  no!  keep  house  till  I  return,  or,  my  word  foi 


fr6  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

it,  you  get  no  breakfast  this  time,"  replied  the  other  in  a 
sportive,  yet  determined  manner,  as  she  quitted  the  hous« 
on  her  proposed  errand,  leaving  her  guests  to  indulge  in 
such  conjectures  as  they  chose  respecting  the  place  to 
which  she  had  gone  to  summon  her  concealed  family 
They  were  not  allowed  much  time,  however,  for  discuss- 
ing this  curious  question ;  for  in  a  short  time  their  ears 
were  saluted  by  the  mingled  sounds  of  jabbering  voices 
approaching  from  the  woods  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  and 
in  a  moment  more  the  dame  came  up  to  the  door,  with 
her  nearly  half-score  of  hardy  little  urchins  trooping  along 
in  noisy  glee  at  her  side. 

"  I  will  shake  hands  with  the  young  Captain  first ! " 
exclaimed  one  of  the  boys,  endeavoring  to  outstrip  the 
rest,  as  they  all  made  a  rush  at  the  door. 

"You  shan't!"  vociferated  another,  springing  forward, 
and  eagerly  elbowing  his  way  through  the  throng  that 
was  now  choking  up  the  entrance.  "I  say  you  shan't 
now,  Dick!  He  likes  me  best;  Ned,  you  hold  him 
back ! " 

"  I  don't  care,  I  will  have  the  first  kith!  "  cried  a  lisp- 
ing little  image  of  her  mother;  "I  will,  mayn't  I,  ma?" 
she  added,  throwing  back  her  long  unfettered  hair  from 
before  her  laughing  black  eyes  with  a  pretty  toss  of  the 
head,  and  entering  with  high  glee  into  the  keen  strife 
going  forward  for  obtaining  the  first  notice  of  one,  who, 
in  former  calls  at  the  house,  seemed  to  have  made  warm 
friends  of  the  whole  band  of  these  tiny  rivals  for  his 
favors. 

The  next  moment  the  person  of  Warrington,  like  that 
Df  Gulliver  among  the  Lilliputians,  was  almost  literally 
covered  by  the  little  beings,  two  sitting  on  each  knee, 
shaking  his  imprisoned  hands  with  all  their  might;  the 
little  Julia  standing  between,  turning  up  her  pretty  cheek 
invitingly  for  the  expected  kiss,  which,  for  all  her  decla^ 
ration,  instinctive  modesty  forbade  her  to  ask  for;  one  or 
two  hold  of  each  arm,  and  one,  more  daring  and  active 
than  the  rest,  having  clambered  aloft,  was  sitting  astride 
the  neck,  and  crowing  aloud  over  the  rest  from  his  ele- 
vated situation;  while  all  were  clinging,  laughing,  and 
chattering  like  a  bevy  of  monkeys  exhibiting  on  an  ele 
phant,  at  the  show  of  some  travelling  menagerie. 


TEE  GREEN  M  O  UN  TA  IN  B  0  Y8.  bl 

Those  fashionable  misanthropes  of  the  Rochefoucauld 
ar  Lacon  school,  who  are  forever  moralizing  and  mourn- 
ing over  the  selfishness  of  man  ;  who  can  see  no  unadul- 
terated benevolence,  no  disinterested  friendship  in  the 
moral  deserts  of  the  human  heart,  might  find  one  oasis, 
at  least,  to  relieve  their  jaundiced  vision,  and  go  to  re- 
fute the  sweeping  dictums  of  their  cold  and  cheerless 
philosophy,  would  they  but  turn  their  eyes  to  the  artless 
actions,  and  examine  the  untutored  and  guileless  hearts 
of  children.  How  spontaneous  their  affections!  With 
what  intuitive  and  unerring  certainty  and  quickness 
they  single  out  those  who  love  them,  whether  kindred 
or  stranger;  and  with  what  confiding  readiness  and 
generous  ardor  is  the  friendship  thus  bestowed  upon 
them  forever  reciprocated ;  and  that,  too,  with  no  de- 
tracting alloy  of  selfish  feeling,  no  worldly  calculating  cf 
results,  and  no  influencing  consideration  of  interest! 
Verily !  while  they  go  to  school  to  tcs  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  head,  methinks  it  would  be  well  for  us  if  the 
tables  were  so  far  turned,  that  they  could  become  our 
only  instructors  in  the  lessons  of  the  heart. 

The  dame,  now  calling  off  such  of  her  children  as  she 
needed  to  assist  her,  and  despatching  one  for  water,  an- 
other for  wood,  and  a  third  to  go  on  some  whispered 
destination,  proceeded  rapidly  in  her  preparations  for  the 
promised  repast.  And  in  a  short  space  of  time,  a  tempt- 
ing meal  from  the  offering  of  her  guests  was  smoking  on 
the  table.  The  meal,  which  was  enlivened  by  a  recital 
of  the  adventures  of  the  band  the  preceding  evening, 
was  no  sooner  ended,  than  Selden,  rising  first  from  the 
table,  departed,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  superior,  to  see 
that  the  party  at  the  other  house  were  ready  to  com.- 
mence  their  march. 

"  Now,  Captain,  where  are  you  going  with  your  men  ?" 
earnestly  asked  the  widow,  as  soon  as  Selden  was  fairly 
gone  ;  "  I  have  reasons  for  wishing  to  know." 

Warrington,  after  a  slight  hesitation,  imparted  the  de- 
sired information. 

"Will  you  make  me  one  promise?"  resumed  the 
woman,  "and  at  the  same  time  receive  from  me  in  kind- 
noss  one  caution  ?  " 

"  On  conditions;  1  will  venture  to  say  yes." 


§8  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  What  may  they  be  ?  If  anything  that  I  can  property 
comply  with " 

"  I  would  impose  no  other  terms,  certainly — so  now  for 
the  promise  you  would  exact?" 

"  Simply  this — that  the  family,  with  whom  the  young 
Indian  I  sent  you  last  evening  resides — no  question  now 
about  their  names  or  residence ! — that  this  family,  I  say, 
shall  not  be  molested,  should  you  or  your  men  ever 
come  across  them.  They  hold  under  a  York  title,  to  be 
sure,  but  turned  no  one  off  to  get  possession.  Will  you 
promise  ?  " 

"For  your  sake,  and  the  Indian's  sake,  if  the  facts 
are  as  you  state,  I  will  promise  my  influence  in  their 
behalf." 

"Now  hear  my  caution — beware  of  that  fellow  you 
chastised  last  night — beware  of  that  Sherwood— he  will 
be  a  serpent  in  your  path." 

"  Do  you  know  him  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  do,  but  must  say  no  more.  And  now,  let's 
hear  your  conditions." 

"Only  that  you  shall  expound  my  dream,  or  vision,  of 
last  night." 

"  A  dream !  vision ! " 

"  Yes !  a  something,  at  all  events,  which  conveyed  to 
my  ear  as  I  thought,  the  sounds  of  a  voice  discoursing 
most  heavenly  music." 

"  A  sleeping  or  a  waking  dream  ?  " 

"The  latter,  I  afterwards  made  up  my  mind  to  believe, 
as  the  readiest  way  of  solving  the  mystery;  but  this 
morning  I  have  begun  to  suspect " 

"At  what  time  last  night,  and  on  what  particular  spot, 
did  this  strange  trance  fall  on  you,  sir?"  interrupted  the 
widow  in  a  bantering  tone,  which  was  accompanied, 
however,  with  a  look  betraying  considerable  curiosity 
and  uneasiness. 

"O,  about  the  usual  time  of  such  visitations — the 
witching  hour  of  midnight.  And  the  scene  should  be 
laid,  I  think,  more  particularly  than  at  any  other  spot, 
near  the  foot  of  a  certain  charmed  tree,  or  rather  the 
hollow  trunk  of  one,  standing  not  far  from  the  bank  of 
the  Creek  down  here,  to  which,  leaving  my  companion 
asleep,  I  had  wandered  alone  to  shake  off  a  fit  of  watch- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  59 

fulness  that  the  spirits  of  the  air,  or  something  else,  had 
unaccountably  sent  me." 

"  And  did  you  relate  your  adventures  to  your  com- 
panion, on  your  return  or  since?" 

"No!" 

**  That  settles  the  question  with  me,  then,  as  to  what  1 
should  now  do,"  seriously  observed  the  woman ;  "  Cap- 
rain  Warrington,  I  clearly  see  that  you  have  accidentally, 
and  very  singularly,  hit  upon  a  clue  to  matters  which  I 
thought  most  prudent  to  conceal,  even  from  you,  friend 
to  the  settlers  and  my  family  as  you  are.  Follow  me, 
and  you  shall  know  more." 

So  saying,  with  rapid  step  she  led  the  way  in  silence 
toward  the  Creek,  closely  followed  by  her  guest,  eager  to 
witness  the  promised  development.  Passing  directly  by 
the  hollow  tree,  to  which  she  pointed  with  a  significant 
smile  as  they  went  along,  she  conducted  him  to  the  brink 
of  the  high,  steep  bank  which  was  here  covered  with  a 
thick  growth  of  young  evergreen,  whose  tangled  boughs 
overhung  the  waters  below.  Now  grasping  firmly  hold 
of  a  projecting  root,  she  swung  herself  down  on  to  a 
narrow  shelf  or  offset  in  the  bank,  a  few  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  water.  As  soon  as  this  position  was  gained 
by  them  both,  she  proceeded  along  the  shelf  a  few  yards, 
and,  removing  a  small  fir-tree  top,  which  had  been,  to  all 
appearances,  blown  down  the  bank,  disclosed  the  mouth 
of  a  narrow  passage  running  back  horizontally  into  the 
earth.  Into  this  she  immediately  entered,  still  followed 
by  her  companion.  After  groping  their  way  about  a  rod 
through  the  dark  zigzag  windings  of  this  passage,  they 
emerged  into  a  spacious  room,  formed  entirely  by  an  arti- 
ficial excavation  of  the  earth,  which,  from  a  beginning  at 
the  outside,  had  been  removed  in  small  parcels  and 
thrown  into  the  stream,  till  the  whole  was  completed. 
The  walls  or  sides,  which  had  been  cut  down  perpendicu- 
larly from  the  solid  mould  and  plastered  over  with  thin 
mud,  now  presented  a  hard  compact  surface.  The  ceiling, 
which  was  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  coming  probably,  at 
the  top  or  centre,  within  a  foot  of  the  surface  above,  was 
supported  by  the  thickly  spreading  roots  of  the  trees, 
standing,  many  of  them,  directly  over  the  excavation,  and 
forming  a  kind  of  network,  curiously,  and  so  strongly 


60  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

interwoven  as  effectually  to  prevent  the  earth  from  cav* 
ing  in  from  above.  The  whole  interior  was  divided  into 
two  parts  of  unequal  dimensions  by  a  slight  willow- work 
partition,  the  lesser  of  which,  being  designed  for  the 
sleeping  apartment,  was  neatly  carpeted  with  a  thick  dry 
moss,  collected  from  the  spruce  knolls  in  the  vicinity  ; 
while  on  one  side  was  extended,  at  suitable  intervals,  a 
row  of  little  oblong  platforms,  raised  about  a  foot  above 
the  general  level  by  repeated  doublings  of  the  same  light, 
springy  substance.  These,  on  which  were  laid  such  beds 
as  the  occupant  could  furnish,  afforded,  with  or  without 
any  further  additions,  soft  and  pleasant  couches,  safely 
protected  against  the  damps  of  a  ground  floor.  Beside 
one  of  the  walls  of  the  larger  room  was  a  rude  fireplace, 
constructed  of  flat  stones,  and  built  up  several  feet  high 
to  receive  fuel  and  give  direction  to  the  smoke,  which, 
ascending  through  a  sort  of  retreating  flue  cut  into  the 
bank,  escaped  through  the  cavity  of  the  identical  hollow 
stub  that  Warrington  had  -discovered  to  be  in  some  way 
connected  with  the  mysterious  melody  heard  by  him  the 
evening  before. 

"  This,  Captain  Warrington,"  said  the  dame,  after 
showing  her  admiring  guest  every  part  of  her  subter- 
raneous establishment,  which  she  had  lit  up  on  entering 
by  throwing  a  few  light  combustibles  on  the  fire  still 
remaining  on  the  hearth  ;  "this  is  my  city  of  refuge — uvy 
stronghold,  or  my  '  T'other  World, '  as  I  have  accus- 
tomed myself  and  children  to  call  it,  fancying,  in  my  wish 
to  keep  the  secret  of  its  existence  to  ourselves,  that  some 
such  name  would  lessen  the  chances  of  a  discovery  which 
might  accidentally  be  made,  perhaps,  by  referring  to  it 
before  others  by  a  proper  designation.  It  was  dug  out 
by  myself  and  my  little  boys,  who  took  to  digging  as 
naturally  as  young  foxes,  and  greatly  assisted  me.  My 
neighbor  below,  however,  aided  me  in  the  most  difficult 
parts  of  the  work ;  and  in  case  of  danger  he  is  to  occupy 
it  with  me." 

"But  what  were  the  immediate  dangers  you  appro* 
bended,  that  led  you  to  so  uncommon  an  undertaking?'- 
asked  the  other. 

"For  myself  I  might  feel,  perhaps,  no  apprehensions," 
replied  the  provident  mother,     "For  my  children  I  feel 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTH.  81 

differently.  All  parents,  Captain,  however  brave  they 
may  be  for  themselves,  are  always  cowards  for  their  chil- 
dren. No  real  dangers,  it  is  true,  might  beset  us  here 
for  years;  and  then  again,  they  might  come  like  a  thief 
in  the  night.  To  say  nothing  of  the  heartless  Yorkers, 
who  might  burn  my  house,  or  turn  us  out  shelterless  into 
the  snow — to  say  nothing  of  the  wolves  that  have  been 
known,  in  the  desperation  of  hunger,  to  attack  folks  in 
their  houses — to  say  nothing  of  these,  which  are  suffi 
ciently  fearful  for  most  people,  what  security  have  we,  in 
these  outposts  of  the  settlement,  even  in  times  of  peace, 
against  a  hostile  visit  from  the  Indians  ?  But  when,  as 
now,  the  rumors  of  war  come  floating  on  every  breeze, 
that  danger  is  daily  increasing.  The  sad  experience  of 
my  father's  family,  who  were  half  slain  by  these  hell- 
hounds of  the  wilderness  at  the  outbreak  of  the  last  war, 
has  taught  me  the  wisdom  of  precaution.  In  peace  they 
are  even  to  be  distrusted;  and  the  first  rumor  of  war  that 
strikes  their  ears  will  put  them  to  whetting  their  knives 
for  slaughter  ;  while  they  are  sure  to  anticipate  the  coming 
contest  by  striking  the  first  blow  on  the  defenceless  fami- 
lies of  the  frontiers.  Now  with  these  views,  is  it  strange," 
she  added  with  a  smile,  "  that  the  mother  of  nine  children, 
with  but  one  neighbor  within  miles  of  her,  should  foresee 
the  evil  and  hide  herself  ?  " 

"  Surely  not,"  replied  Warrington,  struck  not  less  by 
the  forcible  language  of  the  woman,  than  by  her  prudent, 
forecast ;  "  you  are  right  in  believing  that  the  storm  of  a 
new  war  is  gathering  over  us ;  and  if  you  think  of  remain- 
ing  here,  these  precautions  are  but  the  part  of  wisdom, 
as  we  know  not  when  or  where  the  storm  may  burst. 
But  do  you  occupy  this  retreat  every  night,  now? " 

"  We  do." 

"You  enter  as  we  did,  taking  your  children  down  the 
bank,  I  suppose  ?" 

"  Sometimes,  but  more  generally  by  approaching  from 
the  Creek  in  my  canoe,  (which  is  kept  hid  in  the  bushes 
a  few  rods  below,)  lest  by  coming  down  the  bank  con- 
stantly, we  wear  a  path  which  might  lead  to  a  discovery 
of  our  retreat." 

"  And  you  all  lodged  here  last  night,  of  course  ?  " 

«  Yes." 


62  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Part  of  the  mystery,  then,  stands  explained — whj 
should  the  rest  be  kept  back?" 

"  What  is  there  more  that  you  do  not  comprehend  ?  " 

"  The  singing " 

"  Might '  have  been  my  own,  if  j'ou  heard  any.  You 
never  heard  any  of  my  lullaby  performances  before,  I 
suppose?"  said  the  woman,  with  an  evusive  smile. 

"No,  but  I  have  once  heard  the  performances  of  an- 
other, whose  voice  is  not  easily  to  be  forgotten,"  replied 
Warrington,  turning  a  keen,  searching  gaze  on  the  slightly 
confused  face  of  the  widow. 

"  Warrington,  Warrington  !  "  said  the  woman,  resuming 
a  tone  of  seriousness,  and  intently  reading  the  looks  of 
the  other;  "as  much  as  I  hate  deception,  I  wish  I  could 
have  misled  you.  But  I  saw  by  your  disappointed  looks, 
when  you  entered,  and  glanced  around  these  empty 
apartments,  that  you  expected  to  find  here  what  you 
have  not.  And  I  now  see,  that  you  still  have  certain 
impressions,  which  I  wish  'could  have  been  done  away. 
But  as  you  seem  bent  on  following  up  your  clue,  I 
will  not  attempt  to  mislead  you.  From  what  I  have 
gathered  from  you  and  others,  I  have  for  some  time 
secretly  suspected  the  identity  of  persons  yet  supposed 
to  be  different,  and  that  I  have  long  known  those  whose 
present  residence  you  have  little  dreamed  of:  Captain 
Warrington,  there  is  indeed  a  rosebud  in  this  wilderness, 
which  I  should  not  have  been  displeased  to  see  placed  in 
your  bosom.  But  seek  it  not  now — there  is  a  hedge  about 
it  too  high  for  your  leaping." 

"  Where  is  she  ?  I  ask  but  to  know  where,"  inquired 
the  other  with  impatient  eagerness. 

"  Not  here,  not  near  here,  now,"  replied  the  woman  f 
"  the  secret  is  not  mine  to  reveal :  I  have  said  too  much 
already ;  so  question  me  no  further.  But  come,  let  us 
leave  for  the  upper  world,"  she  added,  rapidly  leading 
the  way  out,  and  allowing  the  other  no  further  chance  to 
resume  his  importunities  till  they  had  gained  the  top  of 
the  bank. 

"  But  surely  you  will  not  leave  the  matter  here,  after 
informing  me  so  far  ?  "  said  Warrington,  in  an  expostu- 
lating tone,  as  he  perceived  that  the  other  seemed  to 
expect  that  he  would  now  depart. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  63 

"  For  the  present,  I  surely  shall,"  replied  the  woman, 
decidedly ;  "  you  will  urge  in  vain  one  who  understands 
her  duties  to  all !  Go  !  your  men  await  you — good  morn- 
ing, and  God  speed  you  in  the  cause  of  the  settlers,"  and 
imperiously  waving  her  hand  for  the  departure  of  her 
reluctant  and  tantalized  guest,  she  suddenly  turned  away 
and  disappeared  in  the  forest. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

M  The  sons  of  our  mountains  will  sheath  not  the  brand 
Till  the  last  base  intruder  is  forced  from  the  land." 

One  of  the  most  considerable  openings  in  the  wilder- 
ness in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  at  the  period  of  our  story,  was  at  the  Lower  Falls 
of  Otter  Creek,  at  the  head  of  the  lake  navigation  of  that 
stream,  and  on  and  around  that  fine  and  fertile  swell  of 
land,  now  occupied  as  the  site  of  a  pleasant  and  flourish- 
ing village,  to  which,  as  before  mentioned,  the  more  dig- 
nified name  of  city  has  long  since  been  legally  applied; 
though  not  without  sometimes  eliciting,  probably,  from 
the  traveller  approaching  the  place  with  the  expectations 
which  the  appellation  would  naturally  raise,  a  feeling 
somewhat  akin,  perhaps,  to  that  which  might  be  experi- 
enced on  hearing  the  address  of  My  Lord  applied  to  some 
urchin  scion  of  nobility,  at  marbles,  in  his  first  jacket  and 
trousers.  A  pitch  had  been  made  on  this  spot,  some 
years  before,  by  one  or  more  of  the  New  Hampshire  pat- 
entees, a  saw  and  grist  mill  erected,  and  a  large  piece  of 
forest  felled  and  partially  cleared ;  when  the  whole  tract, 
embracing  the  Falls  and  all  the  improvements,  was  pur- 
chased of  some  of  the  York  land  jobbers  by  one  Colonel 
Pieed.  Reed  bad  been  the  commander  of  a  regiment  of 
Scotch  Highlanders,  that  tame  over  with  General  Wolfe, 
and  was  engaged  with  his  army  in  that  memorable  battle 
which  gave  Quebec  and  the  Canadas  to  the  British  crown. 
This  regiment  having  been  subsequently  disbanded,  the 
Colonel,  still  continuing  in  the  new  world,  and,  in  his  in- 
tercourse between  Canada,  and  New  York,  becoming  ac- 


t)4         THE  QUEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

quainted  with  the  Vermont  lands,  entered  into  the  specu. 
lations  then  going  forward,  and  made  the  purchase  as 
above  stated.  Finding  his  new  purchase  already  in  the 
occupancy  of  the  New  Hampshire  grantees,  and  not  in- 
clining to  he  bothered  with  the  delays  of  a  civil  process 
by  the  York  authorities  to  put  him  in  possession,  what 
should  this  military  land  speculator  do  but  repair  im- 
mediately to  Montreal,  and,  collecting  a  file  of  his  old 
disbanded  soldiers,  go  on,  armed  and  provisioned,  to  con- 
quer and  keep,  and  forcibly  drive  the  occupants  from  the 
ground,  taking  possession  of  the  mills,  lumber,  and  all 
other  improvements  ?  After  making  ample  provisions 
for  continuing  the  improvement  of  his  purchase,  he  left  it 
to  be  managed  and  defended  by  the  men  who  came  on  with 
him,  placed  under  the  command  of  one  of  his  old  fear- 
naught  Highlanders,  by  the  name  of  Donald  Mcintosh, 
formerly  a  brave  and  trusty  sergeant  in  his  regiment,  to 
whom  he  now  delivered  written  military  instructions,  set- 
ting forth  the  manner  in  which  the  improvements  were  to 
be  conducted,  and  the  post  defended  against  any,  or  all, 
who  should  offer  to  intrude  on  the  premises.  The  Colonel, 
being  a  shrewd  man,  and  a  close  observer  of  character, 
national  as  well  as  individual,  and  well  knowing  the  in- 
herent respect  of  Scotchmen  for  discipline,  and  the  orders 
of  a  superior,  would  ensure  him  more  determined  defend- 
ers of  his  possessions,  as  well  as  more  faithful  laborers 
in  their  improvement,  than  all  the  rewards,  bribes,  or 
other  inducements  he  could  offer,  had  thrown  over  the 
whole  transaction  the  appearance  of  a  military  service. 
And,  hiring  his  men  at  the  monthly  compensation  they 
had  formerly  received  as  soldiers,  and  terming  it  an  en- 
listment during  the  war,  and  conducting  them  to  their 
post  under  the  discipline  to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  the  army,  he  had  the  address  to  make  these 
men,  not  the  most  intelligent,  certainly,  honestly  believe 
that  they  were  acting  under  their  old  commander,  in  a 
military  capacity  only,  and  were  really  in  the  service  of 
the  king,  to  whom  this  settlement,  they  were  told,  was 
in  a  state  of  rebellion.  And  right  faithfully  and  rigidly 
did  the  straight-going  Donald,  ever  continuing  to  act 
under  these  impressions,  execute  the  trust  committed  to 
his  charge.     Immediately  proceeding  to  throw  up  a  large 


TIIE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  65 

Tog-house,  and  enclose  a  yard  around  it  with  a  heavy, 
compact  fence  of  hewn  timber,  he  soon  gave  the  post 
such  an  impregnable  and  threatening  aspect  as  effectually 
deterred  the  former  occupants  from  attempting,  with  any 
force  they  could  rally  in  the  neighborhood,  to  dislodge 
the  intruders.  And,  after  watching  awhile,  and  seeing 
no  diminution  of  the  strength  of  their  antagonists;,  or  re- 
laxation of  their  caution,  these  ejected  and  plundered 
settlers,  who  happened  to  be  among  the  less  spirited  of 
their  countrymen,  at  length  pretty  much  relinquished  the 
hope  of  regaining  their  possessions,  except  in  a  favorable 
termination  of  the  negotiation  still  going  forward  at  in- 
tervals between  the  settlers  and  the  government  of  New 
York. 

In  this  manner,  for  nearly  two  years,  did  the  minions 
of  Reed  hold  and  manage  these  valuable  possessions, 
clearing  land,  raising  crops,  and  exporting  lumber  and 
other  products,  without  being  at  all  molested  by  the  set- 
tlers, or  the  attending  circumstances  being  known,  indeed, 
to  those  who  had  exercised  any  general  agency  in  resist- 
ing the  aggression  of  the  Yorkers,  At  length,  however, 
the  tranquillity  of  the  intruders  became  accidentally  en- 
dangered. Ira  Allen,  the  Green  Mountain  Metternich  of 
after  times,  and  one  of  the  cabinet  council  of  those  we 
are  describing,  coming  through  this  section,  on  his  return 
to  his  residence  in  Bennington  from  an  excursion  to  the 
Winooski  river,  sought  lodgings  on  a  stormy  December 
night  at  the  quarters  of  Mcintosh  and  his  men — a  call 
which  came  near  costing  the  former  his  life  at  the  outset ; 
for,  while  he  was  unsuspectingly  knocking  for  admission, 
the  wary  Scotchman,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  con- 
eider  all  his  foes,  who  did  not  give  the  watchword,  noise- 
lessly opened  the  door  wide  enough  to  protrude  one  arm, 
and  made  several  desperate  lunges  at  his  body,  hit  or 
miss,  with  a  naked  sabre.  Providentially,  however,  the 
weapon,  missing  the  body,  only  wounded  the  great  coat 
of  the  traveller,  who,  at  last  succeeding  in  making  the 
other  believe  that  he  wanted  nothing  more  than  a  shelter 
for  the  night,  was  now  admitted,  and  entertained  till  next 
morning.  This  singular  reception,  as  well  as  the  odd 
and  warlike  appearance  of  everything  connected  Math 
the  establishment,  awakened  the  curiosity  and  excited 
5 


66  THE  GREEN-  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

the  suspicions  of  Allen,  who,  from  the  information  ns 
obtained  by  pumping  the  incautious  Donald,  and  making 
inquiries  of  the  settlers  before  leaving  the  vicinity,  re« 
turned  home  in  possession  of  the  full  history  of  the  case. 
And  the  consequence  was,  that  before  many  months,  a 
small  band  of  Green  Mountain  Boys  came  on  from  the 
south,  and  finding  no  one  about  the  premises,  were  pro 
ceedmg  to  clear  the  house  and  yard  of  all  they  contained 
when  the  occupants,  who  had  been  at  work  in  the  woods, 
returned,  and  after  holding-  a  council  of  war  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  house,  made  such  a  furious  charge  with 
fixed  bayonets  on  the  newcomers,  that  they, little  dream- 
ing of  so  warlike  an  onset,  were  fairly  routed  from  the 
works,  and  were  compelled  to  decamp  amidst  the  victori- 
ous shouts  of  the  elated  Highlanders.  Chagrined  and 
vexed  on  the  result  of  this  attempt,  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  early  the  next  spring,  set  on  foot  another  expedi^ 
tion  for  diL^ersing  these  military  tenants  of  the  usurping 
Colonel.  And  for  this,  among  other  objects,  Warring- 
ton and  his  companions  were  now  on  their  way  to  the 
spot. 

It  was  not  until  an  advanced  hour  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  day,  which  commenced  by  the  adventures  related  in 
the  last  chapter,  that  our  band  arrived  at  the  outskirts 
of  the  singularly  guarded  possession  just  described.  Their 
force,  swelled  by  the  numbers  who  had  joined  them  on 
the  last  part  of  their  route,  now  amounted  to  about  a 
dozen  men.  They  halted  in  the  woods,  adjoining  the 
clearing,  for  the  purpose  of  consultation,  with  a  view  to 
fix  on  the  best  mode  of  attacking  the  place,  which  they 
were  not  without  hope  of  carrying  by  surprise.  They 
had  scarcely  commenced  discussing  these  points,  how« 
ever,  before  their  attention  was  arrested  by  two  quickly 
successive  reports  of  fire-arms,  proceeding  from  a  thicket, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Creek. 

"  What  will  you  bate  I  don't  know  the  bark  of  that 
dog,  Captain?"  exclaimed  Jones,  tipping  one  of  his  comi- 
cal winks  to  his  superior. 

"  Aha !  who  do  you  suspect,  Jones  ?  "  asked  Warrington 
with  a  look  of  interest. 

"  Why,  T  shouldn't  like  to  make  bodily  oath  of  it,  be- 
sure,"  replied  the  other,  "  but  unless  my  ear  lies  like  the 


'IRE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  67 

mischief,  one  of  those  popping  noises  over  there  was  the 
Voice  of  an  old  acquaintance." 

"  To  the  point,  man,  if  you  possibly  can !  "  rather  im- 
patiently spoke  the  leader.  "What  acquaintance  do  yon 
mean?" 

"The  one  that  I  was  introduced  to,  up  on  the  lake 
there,  last  night,  asking  your  pardon,  Captain,"  replied 
Pete,  lowering  his  tone  a  little  under  the  slightly  rebuk 
'ng  manner  af  his  commander. 

w  You  are  in  the  right,  Mr.  Jones,"  said  the  other,  kindly, 
though  a  flash  of  anger  passed  over  his  face  at  the  dis- 
covery that  now  burst  on  his  mind  ;  "  I  see  it  all,  at  last. 
Those  were  the  reports  of  a  pair  of  pistols,  and  in  the 
hands,  too,  of  that  traitorous  Sherwood,  who  has  been 
hovering  round  us  on  our  march,  and  now  fires  his  pistols 
as  a  preconcerted  signal,  to  give  notice  of  our  approach. 
It  is  well  for  the  fellow  that  he  was  wise  enough  to  put 
the  Creek  between  us  and  himself,  before  taking  this  last 
step." 

"  That  comes  of  suffering  the  scoundrel  to  go  unhanged 
last  night,"  grumbled  Brown.  "  If  I  had  been  the  Cap- 
tain, I  would  have  strung  him  up  to  the  limb  of  a  tree 
like  a  sheep-killing  dog,  and  left  him  kicking  in  the  air." 

"  It  is  not  always,"  said  Warrington,  "  nor  often,  I  think, 
that  we  find  cause  to  repent  of  the  mercies  we  have 
shown  ;  but  this  fellow — let  him  beware !  "  he  added,  knit- 
ting his  brow,  "  let  him  beware  how  he  is  taken  again !  " 

All  hope  of  taking  the  place  by  surprise  being  now  re- 
linquished by  our  band,  it  was  soon  settled,  as  the  most 
probable  way  of  accomplishing  their  object  without  blood- 
shed, which  they  would  gladly  avoid,  that  a  feint  should 
oe  made  in  the  open  field,  with  a  view  of  drawing  out  the 
enemy  from  their  works,  while  the  part  of  their  force  not 
thus  to  be  engaged,  should  go  round  in  the  woods,  and, 
approaching  in  the  rear,  endeavor  to  get  possession  of  the 
house  and  enclosure.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  War- 
rington, taking  Selclen  and  two  of  the  men  with  him, 
started  off  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  last  part  of  the 
arrangement  into  execution,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  force 
under  the  command  of  Jones,  whose  genius,  it  was 
thought,  was  calculated  to  conduct  the  other  part  of  the 
enterprise  now  entrusted  to  his  charge,  with  orders  to 


6W         THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

advance  through  the  open  grounds  towards  the  bouse, 
and  adopt  such  measures  on  the  way  as  circumstances 
might  suggest  for  bringing  about  the  desired  result. 

After  waiting  a  sufficient  time  to  allow  the  other  party 
to  gain  a  post  in  the  woods  in  the  rear  of  the  works,  Pete, 
the  new  commandant,  put  his  men  in  motion,  and  emerg- 
ing from  the  bushes,  they  commenced,  in  a  wide-spread 
platoon,  their  ostentatious  march  through  the  field,  in 
order  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  supposed  to 
be  concealed  in  their  enclosures  at  the  house.  It  so  hap- 
pened that,  directly  in  the  course  of  the  advancing  party, 
there  lay  a  series  of  large  log-heaps,  which  either,  by 
accident  or  design,  had  been  placed,  in  clearing  the  land, 
very  nearly  in  a  straight  line,  at  intervals  of  about  a  dozen 
rods,  beginning  near  the  house  and  extending  almost  to 
the  woods.  When  the  party  had  arrived  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  first  log-heap  their  attention  was  arrested  by 
the  sound  of  a  human  voice  issuing  from  behind  it,  and, 
in  an  eager,  suppressed  tone,  giving  off  some  brief  orders, 
resembling  those  of  military  command. 

"A'  ready?  up  then,  an'  gie  til  the  louns!"  exclaimed 
-the  voice  of  the  unseen  leader,  in  broad  Scotch,  as  a 
platoon  of  armed  men  suddenly  rose  from  behind  the 
logs,  and,  raising  their  guns  breast  high,  discharged  them 
full  in  the  faces  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

"Noo,  right  aboot  face!  and  rin  as  if  the  deevil  was 
after  ye,  as  he  is,  and  mair  too,"  resumed  the  military 
Donald,  for  it  was  no  other  than  he  and  his  men,  who  had 
thus  been  lying,  in  concealment  behind  the  log-heap, 
patiently  awaiting  the  approach  of  their  unsuspecting 
assailants. 

The  balls,  just  clearing  the  heads  of  our  band,  whistled 
through  the  air,  and  struck  with  a  crash  among  the  dry 
limbs  of  the  forest  behind  them.  As  soon  as  they  had 
recovered  from  the  surprise  into  which  they  had  been 
thrown  by  the  suddenness  of  this  unexpected  attack,  they 
all  sprang  forward  in  the  screening  smoke  of  the  enemy's 
fire,  and  gained  the  cover  of  the  log-heap,  just  relin- 
quished by  the  latter  for  the  next  one  in  the  line  of  their 
defences. 

"  Well,  this  is  what  I  should  call  rather  a  curious  how- 
d'ye-do,  boys,"  coolly  said  Jones,  when  they  had  gained 


TBS  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  69 

their  skelter  ;  "  who  would  have  guessed  the  scamps  were 
packed  away  behind  this  old  log-heap?  But  one  thing 
beats  ray  philosophy — if  the  bloody  dogs  really  wanted  to 
?ive  us  the  lead  (and  they  shot  dreadful  careless  if  they 
lidn't),  why  in  natur  didn't  they  take  aim  ?" 

"  They  are  all  regular  sarvice  men,"  replied  a  settler 
from  the  vicinity,  "and  breast-high  is  the  rule  of  firing  in 
the  army." 

"  Then  we  may  thank  the  rule  for  our  lives,  and  not 
the  pesky  fools  who  used  it,"  replied  the  former.  "  It 
would  not  be  a  great  deal  more  than  right  to  send  our 
rifle  bullets  through  the  whole  tote  of  'em.  But  I  should 
some  rather  not  kill  the  sarpents,  if  we  can  get  along 
without;  and  I  guess  as  how  we  can,  seeing  they  were 
kind  enough  to  sound  their  rattles  before  trying  to  bite, 
as  that  queer  old  codger  did,  in  giving  off  word  before 
they  let  drive  at  us.  And  if  they  will  go  on  as  they  have 
begun,  we'll  just  be  making  our  manners  when  they  fire, 
so  that  the  balls  may  pass  over  us,  and  then  follow  'em 
up  as  before — but  hark  !  the  old  chap  is  at  it  again  !  go- 
ing the  motions  as  regular  as  the  nightmare ;  there ! 
he  has  got  to  '  cock  fire-lock ! '  Now,  down  with  you 
boys ! " 

Jones  and  his  men  had  scarcely  thrown  themselves  on 
to  their  knees  behind  their  log-heap  breastwork,  before 
another  volley  of  balls,  discharged  with  the  same  military 
precision,  whistled  over  them  ;  and  again  the  old  dry 
hemlocks  that  skirted  the  woods  appeared  to  be  the  only 
sufferers.  Again  retreating  to  their  next  post,  these 
kilted  defenders  of  the  place  were  followed  up  as  at  first 
by  their  crafty  assailants,  who  were  now  becoming  highly 
delighted  with  the  fun  of  so  unique  a  warfare.  And  in 
this  manner  the  fight,  if  fight  it  be  called,  continued 
through  the  whole  field — one  party  blazing  away  at  ran- 
dom from  every  log-heap  they  reached,  and  then  scudding 
on  for  the  next,  quite  satisfied  with  this  way  of  doing 
their  duty  of  defending  these  supposed  possessions  of  the 
king,  since  they  were  conducting  their  defence,  as  they 
believed,  according  to  military  rule:  while  the  other 
party,  occasionally  discharging  their  pieces  into  the  air, 
to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  a  hostile  pursuit,  and  some* 
times  raising  their  hats  on  their  ramrods,  just  high  enough 


70  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

above  the  logs,  behind  which  they  were  ensconced,  to 
become  visible  to  their  foes  when  they  fired,  that  they 
might  be  thus  encouraged  to  continue  the  sport,  were  no 
less  content  with  this  fashion  of  fighting,  as  it  answered 
all  the  objects  in  view,  without  putting  them  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  killing  others,  and,  what  was  quite  as  agreeable, 
without  running  any  risk  of  being  killed  themselves. 

But  leaving  these  belligerents  for  the  present,  we  will 
now  follow  those  who  departed  to  execute  the  other  part 
of  this  novel  enterprise. 

Keeping  within  the  border  of  the  woods,  Warrington 
and  his  attendants  soon  made  the  circuit  round  the  clear- 
ing, and  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  Creek,  in  the  rear  of 
the  buildings,  before  the  attack  was  made  on  the  other 
detachment.  They  had  scarcely  gained  this  position, 
however,  before  they  were  aroused  by  the  rattling  of  Mc- 
intosh's salutatory  volley  on  their  companions,  at  the 
other  extremity  of  the  opening.  And,  though  the  rise  of 
land  which  intervened  between  them  and  the  scene  of 
action  prevented  them  from  ascertaining  by  sight  the 
exact  situation  of  affairs,  yet  readily  concluding  that  the 
enemy,  in  full  force,  had  taken  the  open  field,  as  had  been 
anticipated,  they  made  for  the  house  with  all  possible 
speed,  to  get  possession  of  the  works  before  the  occupants 
could  find  time  to  return.  On  reaching  the  enclosure 
round  the  house,  Warrington,  leaving  his  men  in  the  rear, 
went  round  to  the  front  side,  and,  after  a  moment  spent 
in  reconnoitring,  from  behind  a  wood-pile,  the  parties  in 
the  field,  crept  up  and  made  an  attempt  to  open  the  gate. 
But  to  his  disappointment,  he  soon  discovered  that  it  was 
lecurely  barred  on  the  inside ;  while  the  noise  of  some 
slight  movement  within  apprised  him  that  the  place  had 
not  been  left  wholly  unguarded.  On  making  these  dis- 
coveries, he  immediately  retreated  to  the  rear,  without 
being  seen  by  the  enemy.  There,  standing  beside  the 
wall  of  the  enclosure  and  eagerly  gazing  through  a  small 
crevice  between  the  timbers,  he  found  Selden,  who,  now 
turning  with  an  expressive  look,  silently  beckoned  him 
to  approach.  Obeying  the  sign,  Warrington  carefully 
stepped  up  to  the  spot  and  put  his  eye  to  the  aperture 
which  the  other,  now  yielding  the  place,  pointed  out  with 
bis  finger ;  when  all  that  part  of  the  arena  within?  which 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  71 

was  in  front  of  the  house,  was  opened  to  his  view.  And 
tne  object  that  there  met  his  eyes  struck  hiui  with  scarce 
.ess  surprise  than  what  hud  just  been  manifested  by  his 
more  romantic  companion.  Near  the  barricaded  entrance 
into  the  yard,  instead  of  a  bearded  warrior,  stood  a  young 
and  neatly  dressed  female,  of  striking  beauty,  holding  a 
musket,  and  apparently  enacting  the  part  of  a  sentry  t< 
fire  an  alarm  gun,  or  open  the  gate  on  the  signal  of  her 
friends.  She  had  evidently  heard  the  movements  of  those 
without,  and  was  now  standing,  like  a  startled  fawn,  her 
bosom  heaving  with  suppressed  alarm,  her  lips  slightly 
drawn  apart,  and  her  head  turned  in  the  attitude  of  in- 
tense listening — all  combining  to  give  an  air  of  charming 
and  picturesque  wildness  to  her  whole  appearance.  A 
swarthy-faced  girl  was  timidly  peeping  from  the  nearly 
shut  door  of  the  house,  to  which,  on  hearing  the  noise, 
she  had  apparently  retreated.  From  the  dress  and 
appearance  of  the  latter,  Warrington  was  but  at  little 
loss  in  tracing  between  these  two  females  the  relation  of 
mistress  and  maid.  And  now,  with  a  rapid  survey  of  the 
situation  of  the  whole  interior,  as  far  as  could  be  seen,  he 
hastily  quitted  his  stand  at  the  crevice  and  turned  to 
Selden. 

"Isn't  she  a  vision  of  a  creature?"  eagerly  whispered 
the  latter,  his  fine  dark  eyes  sparkling  with  animation  ; 
"what,  in  the  name  of  feminine  wonders,  will  you  show 
us  nc-xt,  Warrington?    But  who  and  what  can  she  be?" 

"  I  am  scarcely  wiser  than  yourself,  in  that  respect." 

"  If  the  other  was  a  Juno,  this  I  suppose,  must  be  some 
warrior  sylph  of  the  Green  Mountains." 

"Not  of  the  Green  Mountains,  I  suspect,"  rejoined 
Warrington,  "  but  be  she  sylph  or  satan  in  heavenly  guise7 
we  must  pay  her  a  visit,  and  have  possession  of  the  works 
within  ten  minutes — the  enemy  are  on  the  retreat  for  the 
gate,  and  there  is  no  time  to  lose — advance,  boys,  and  lend 
me  your  shoulders  for  a  stepping  stone  to  scale  this 
wall." 

The  walls  of  the  enclosure  were  about  ten  feet  high, 
exclusive  of  the  pickets  which  surmounted  them,  and 
which  were  formed  of  stakes  three  or  four  feet  long, 
sharply  pointed  at  the  top,  and  set  into  large  augur 
holes  bored  in  the  unper  laver  of  timber. 


72  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Taking  his  men  to  a  part  of  the  wall  in  the  rear  of  the 
house,  which  would  screen  them,  in  their  attempt,  from 
the  view  of  the  inmates  in  front,  and  thus  afford  them  a 
better  chance  to  get  over  unmolested,  and  without  causing 
an  alarm  to  be  given  too  soon,  the  leader  mounted  the 
shoulders  of  one  of  his  men,  leaped  on  to  the  top  of  the 
timbers,  and  soon  luckily,  and  without  noise,  succeeded 
in  wrenching  out  pickets  enough  to  give  him  a  ready 
ingress.  And  taking  up  his  rifle  from  the  hands  of  those 
below,  and  ordering  two  of  them  to  follow,  and  the  other, 
who  would  have  no  means  of  getting  up,  to  act  in  concert 
with  Jones,  he  now  swung  himself  down  upon  the  ground. 
In  another  moment,  Selden  and  the  man  he  had  selected 
having  been  equally  successful,  they  all  three  stood  undis- 
covered on  the  ground,  in  the  narrow  space  between  the 
wall  and  the  back  side  of  the  house. 

"  Well,  Selden,"  said  Warrington,  with  a  humorous 
look ;  "  in  what  manner  shall  we  proceed  with  this  for* 
midable  garrison — by.stornvor  parley?" 

"The  latter,  certainly,  unless  the  storm  is  to  be  a  storm 
of  kisses,"  replied  the  other,  in  the  same  spirit ;  "  but 
seriously,  lest  the  appearance  of  all  of  us  at  once  occa- 
sion unnecessary  alarm,  I  propose  that  one  of  us  go  for* 
ward  alone,  for  this  purpose." 

"  Yours  shall  be  the  chance,  then,  of  displaying  your 
oravery,  gallantry,  or  diplomacy,  as  the  case  may  require, 
in  treating  with  the  fair  commander." 

"Thank'ee,  Captain." 

"But  have  a  caution,  sir — remember  that;  other  things 
sometimes  inflict  wounds  besides  leaden  bullets !  " 

"  O,  borrow  no  trouble  on  my  account,  on  either  score," 
gayly  responded  Selden,  as  he  disappeared  round  the  cor- 
ner of  the  house,  on  his  delicate  mission. 

The  merry  boast  of  the  last  speaker,  however,  had,  but 
for  his  good  fortune,  been  a  vain  one :  For  the  next 
moment  after  he  had  passed  out  of  the  sight  of  his  friends, 
the  stunning  report  of  a  musket  saluted  their  ears,  while 
a  bullet  whistled  by  them  and  buried  itself  in  the  wall 
of  the  enclosure,  a  few  feet  from  where  they  stood.  In- 
stantly springing  forward  toward  the  scene  of  action, 
they  found  Selden  standing  in  mute  surprise,  but  unhurt, 
a  few  yards  in  front  of  the  house,  and  as  many  rods  from 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  78 

the  mad  girl,  who,  in  the  suddenness  of  the  alarm  and  trep- 
idation that  seized  her,  as  she  accidentally  turned  round 
and  unexpectedly  beheld  an  enemy  within  the  enclosure 
and  approaching  her,  had  just  committed  the  half  involun- 
tary, half  frenzied  act  of  discharging  at  him  a  well-loaded 
musket,  whose  fatal  contents  he  had  but  narrowly  es- 
saped.  For  a  moment  there  was  a  dead  pause,  during 
which  neither  of  the  parties  stirred  from  their  respective 
positions,  being  nearly  invisible  to  each  other  in  the 
smoke  which  was  rising  in  eddying  whirls  between  them. 
Soon,  however,  the  light  and  airy  form  of  the  warrior 
damsel  became  visible  to  her  astonished  beseigers.  There, 
pale,  agitated,  and  almost  frantic  with  conflicting  emo- 
tions, she  still  stood,  as  if  chained  to  the  spot,  holding 
with  convulsive  grasp  the  yet  smoking  musket,  and  ap- 
parently scarcely  less  frightened  at  what  she  had  done 
than  for  her  own  personal  safety. 

After  gazing  an  instant  with  increasing  consternation 
and  alarm,  as  she  beheld  the  now  treble  number  of  the 
enemy,  she  suddenly  threw  down  her  gun,  and  made  a 
desperate  push  to  unbar  the  gate. 

"  Nay,  nay  !  lady,"  exclaimed  Warrington,  leaping  for- 
ward to  her  side,  and  placing  his  hands  firmly  upon  the 
bars;  "this  we  cannot  suffer  now,  though  we  intend  you 
no  harm,"  he  continued  in  a  gentler  tone;  "but  you  had 
better  retire — this  is  no  place  for  one  of  your  sex.  Mr 
Selden,  will  you  conduct  her  into  the  house?" 

"Touch  me  not!"  half  shrieked  the  baffled  and  mad- 
dened girl,  shrinking  from  the  touch  of  Selden,  who  now 
approached,  and  offered  to  lead  her  to  the  house;  "touch 
me  not,  villain — monster  !  " 

"Be  calm — calm  your  fears,  dear  lady,"  said  Selden, 
In  a  soothing  and  respectful  tone,  "will  you  hear  me? 
VTill  you  look  me  in  the  face?  There!  do  I  appear  like 
a  villain  ?  Now  hear  me  :  although  we  may  try  to  re- 
store these  possessions  to  their  former,  and,  as  we  believe, 
rightful  owners,  yet,  in  doing  this,  we  would  not  will- 
ingly injure  a  single  man  of  the  defenders — much  less  a 
female.  Be  prevailed  on,  then,  to  retire,  and  I  pledge 
myself,  on  the  honor  of  a  gentleman,  that  no  hair  of  your 
head  shall  be  injured." 
During  this  address,  the  kind  and  tender  manner  of 


? 4        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

which  seemed  to  strike  unexpectedly  on  her  ears,  she 
turned,  and  looking  full  upon  the  manly  and  handsome 
face  of  Selden,  a  change  passed  over  her  agiiated  coun- 
tenance. Her  overtasked  nerves  gave  way,  and  her  as- 
sumed nature  melting  away  into  its  original  softness, 
like  a  storm  in  March  dissolving  into  the  tears  of  April, 
she  burst  into  a  fit  of  hysteric  weeping,  and  now  suffered 
herself  to  be  conducted  unresistingly  into  the  house. 

By  this  tini3  Donald  and  his  men,  who,  om  hepnng  the 
report  of  the  musket  just  fired,  as  they  were  maKing  a 
stand  behind  the  last  log-heap  of  their  line  of  defence, 
hastily  discharged  a  parting  round  at  the  enemy,  and  fled 
for  the  works,  had  reached  the  enclosure;  and  the 
former  was  now  vociferating  the  watchword,  and  rat- 
tling away  at  the  gate  for  admittance.  Meanwhile, 
Jones,  with  his  detachment,  being  apprised  that  his 
friends  were  in  possession  of  the  works  by  a  handkerchief 
which  the  latter  had,  as  a  preconcerted  signal,  hung  on  a 
corner  picket,  rushed  on  after  the  retreating  Scotchmen 
on  their  way  to  the  gate,  intending  to  follow  them  so 
closely  that  they  could  have  no  time  to  reload  their  guns 
before  they  should  be  compelled  to  surrender. 

Looking  around  and  seeing  his  foes  close  upon  hiua, 
Mcintosh  redoubled  his  clamor  to  get  in. 

"  O,  why  dinna  ye  open  the  gaet?"  exclaimed  the  im- 
patient and  distressed  Highlander,  still  ignorant  that  any 
others  were  within  than  those  he  left  there  r  "  thae  feck- 
ful  deevils  are  hard  at  our  heels.  Ochl  oigh !  Jessy, 
Jessy  Reed !  is  it  my  ain  ColoaieFs  dochter  that  wad  be 
doylt  at  sic  a  time?  An'  Zilpah,  is  your  mistress  dead,  or 
ye  a'  fear't  an'  f asht  thegither,  thatyenae  ken  the  coming 
o'us?" 

«  Your  ladies  are  all  safe  in  the  house,  my  honest  friend," 
sried  out  Warrington  in  reply,  "  but  your  quarters  are 
now  in  possession  of  other  hands.  You  had  better  sur. 
render,  sir,  as  it  will  be  of  little  use  to  contend  against 
those  who  are  now  too  strong  for  you,  both  within  and 
without." 

The  astonishment  and  dismay  of  the  simple-minded 
Scotchman  at  the  discovery  that  his  foes  had  obtained 
a  lodgment  within  his  stronghold,  was  unbounded ;  for 
having  perceived  nothing  wrong  about  his  works  at  the 


'TBE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOT&.  78 

time  his  attention  was  arrested  dv  the  report  oi  a  musket 
within  them,  and  soon  after  seemg  the  man  left  outsida 
by  Warrington  running  out  into  che  field,  lie  supposed  the 
gun  was  fired  by  the  bold  and  wayward  girl  who  had  vol- 
unteered for  the  service,  only  to  apprise  him  that  some 
one  was  round  the  outside  of  the  works.  And  he  and  his 
men,  having  given  a  merry  hurra !  for  the  braw  lassie 
who  frightened  away  the  skulking  tramper,  had  come  on 
and  reached  the  gate  in  the  confident  expectation  that  in 
another  moment  they  should  be  safely  ensconced  within 
their  works,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  all  pursuers. 

"Gude  guide  us!"  he  ejaculated,  looking  hurriedly 
around  him,  while  his  countenance  exhibited  the  very 
picture  of  perplexity  and  distress  ;  "Gude  guide  us!  gor't 
by  the  rake-hells  wi'in  and  wi'out !  0  what  wad  1  do! 
what  wad  I  do!" 

"I'll  jest  tell  you  what  to  do,  you  queer  old  divil!" 
sung  out  Jones,  catching  the  last  part  of  these  exclama- 
tions, as  he  brought  his  men  to  a  halt  within  two  rods  of 
the  Scotchmen,  who  now,  mechanically  facing  about,  and 
presenting  their  fixed  bayonets  to  their  opponents,  stood 
glumly  awaiting  the  commands  of  their  leader.  "  I  will 
tell  you  what  to  do,"  he  repeated,  "  you  must  knuckle  to, 
old  fellow.  What's  the  particular  use  in  your  standing  out 
against  these  six  loaded  rifles,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Cap- 
tain and  his  folks  inside,  if  they  should  take  a  notion  to 
wake  you  up  a  little  ?  so  I  take  it  the  cunningest  thing  you 
can  do  jest  now  is,  for  you  all  to  throw  down  your  guns 
and  surrender." 

"  Hoot  awa',  mon !  "  exclaimed  Mcintosh,  aroused  by 
this  fresh  summons  to  surrender  ;  "an'  I  rede  ye'll  find 
wese  fight  and  defend  til  the  last  drap  o' our  bluid  !  At- 
tention there!  "  he  continued,  hastily  turning  to  his  men, 
"  prime  an'  load  !  " 

Warrington  now  sternly  repeated  his  demand  for  an 
immediate  surrender  ;  but  the  obstinate  Highlander, 
knowing  no  way  of  obeying  the  military  instruction  of 
his  Colonel,  "  to  fight  and  defend,"  but  to  fight  on  at 
whatever  odds,  or  whatever  the  consequences  to  him  and 
his  men,  deigned  no  other  answer  to  this  repetition  of  the 
summons  than  by  urging  his  men  to  despatch  in  loading 
their  pieces. 


T6  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  What  is  to  be  done,  Captain?"  coolly  said  Jones,  call, 
ing  to  his  superior,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  a  nod  to 
his  men,  at  which  they  all  promptly  cocked  their  rifles 
and  brought  them  to  their  shoulders;  "speak  tolerably 
quick,  if  you've  any  orders,  for  they  are  about  loaded,  and 
we  some  rather  give  than  take  under  all  the  circum- 
stances." 

"Neither!"  shouted  Warrington,  "do  neither — knock 
up  their  guns!  disarm  them  !  grapple  with  them,  and  if 
-too  many  for  you,  we'll  soon  be  among  you." 

A  sudden  furious  rush  was  now  made  by  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  on  their  astonished  antagonists,  who,  not 
dreaming  of  this  mode  of  attack,  and  being  busily  intent 
on  loading  their  guns,  were  taken  by  complete  surprise^ 
and  to  a  great  disadvantage  to  themselves.  And  before 
they  had  recovered  from  their  astonishment  sufficiently 
to  put  themselves  in  a  posture  of  defence,  most  of  their 
guns  were  wrenched  from  their  hands,  their  bodies  seized 
round  the  waist,  and  some  of  them  thrown  to  the  ground  ; 
while  grappling  man  with  man,  all  were  instantly  in- 
volved helter-skelter,  in  the  tremendous  scuffle  that  now 
ensued.  And  although  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  were 
now  in  the  exercise  of  their  favorite  athletics,  and  not- 
withstanding their  great  strength  and  suppleness  of 
limb,  they  soon  found  that  the  entire  subjection  of  these 
brawny  and  resolute  Highlanders  was  no  very  easy  task. 
Though  thrown  to  the  ground,  they  had  to  be  held  there  ; 
though  knocked  down,  they  again  rose  to  the  fight,  and 
though  beaten,  they  yielded  not.  And  the  victory  had, 
perhaps,  been  even  doubtful,  had  not  Warrington  now 
thrown  open  the  gate,  and  come  with  a  fresh  force  to 
the  rescue.  Then,  indeed,  it  was  not  till  they  saw  their 
leader  lying  bound  and  helpless  on  the  ground,  that  the 
pugnacious  Scotchmen  could  be  brought  to  say  that 
they  yielded  themselves  prisoners. 

"I  have  na  yielded  yet,  ye  hogshoutherin'  rapscal- 
lions ! "  roared  Donald,  scornfully,  as  he  lay  on  the 
ground  with  scarcely  a  member  of  his  body,  except  his 
tongue,  at  liberty  ;  "  I  hae  na  yielded,  an'  as  muckle  vic- 
tory as  ye  think  to  mak  it,  ye  sal  never  say  that  Donald 
Mcintosh  ca'd  himsel'  prisoner  wi'out  first  settling  the 
conditions  o'  the  surrender  " 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  77 

"What  conditions  would  you  have,  brave  Scot?  "asked 
Warrington,  with  great  show  of  respect,  as  soon  as  he 
could  be  heard  amidst  the  shouts  of  laughter  that  followed 
this  ludicrous  declaration  of  the  vanquished  leader- 

"  What  conditions?  Why  to  be  allowed  to  march  out 
wi'  a'  the  honors  o'  war,  an'  a  safe  passport  for  thae  avo- 
men  an'  a'  the  gear,  an'  property,"  replied  Mcintosh, 
somewhat  soothed  by  the  respectful  manner  of  the  other 

"And  will  you  quietly  yield  up  the  place  and  depart, 
if  we  will  allow  you  these  conditions?"  rejoined  War- 
rington, evidently  disposed  to  humor  the  fallen  warrior 
in  his  laughable  demand. 

"  We  wael  bide  thae  terms  of  surrender,"  replied  the 
other,  "  an'  ye  hae  the  word  o'  Donald  Mcintosh  till  the 
bargain." 

"  We  will  let  the  man  have  his  way  for  the  bravery 
he  has  shown,"  said  Warrington,  turning  to  his  men. 
"Take  away  their  ammunition,  but  restore  them  their 
guns,  and  unbind  their  leader.  Now,  Captain  Mcintosh, 
arise — parade  your  men,  and  conduct  the  surrender  in 
such  manner  as  suits  your  pleasure." 

Deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  what  he  deemed  the 
honor  of  his  profession  required  in  surrendering  so  im- 
portant a  military  post  of  the  king,  as  he  considered  this. 
Mcintosh  arose,  formed  his  men,  marched  into  the  en- 
closure, halted,  faced  about,  sent  a  corporal  to  bring  out 
the  ladies  and  place  them  in  the  rear,  marched  out  again, 
grounded  arms,  and,  with  an  air  of  great  formality  and 
consequence,  pronounced  himself  and  followers  prisoners 
of  war,  to  depart  on  parole,  to  serve  no  more  on  this  coast 
during  the  war. 

Warrington,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  national  char- 
acter of  his  prisoners,  entertaining  no  doubts  of  their 
fidelity  in  strictly  observing  all  the  stipulations  of  their 
leader,  now  cordially  invited  them  to  remain  at  the  post 
through  the  night.  And  the  invitation  being  as  cordially 
accepted,  both  parties,  within  an  hour,  were  commingling 
in  the  greatest  amity  and  good  feeling,  the  Green  Mount- 
ain Boys  secretly  elated  with  their  success  in  reducing 
this  stronghold  of  the  Yorkers,  and  their  late  opponents 
resting  satisfied  with  the  gallant  efforts  they  had  made 
in  its  defence. 


78  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

The  next  day  the  vanquished,  availing  themselves  ct 
the  permission  granted  them  by  the  victors,,  conveyed  all 
the  movable  property  of  their  master  on  board  several 
large  batteaux,  which  had  been  kept  there  for  the  pur- 
pose  of  exporting  lumber  or  other  products  of  the  farm, 
and  set  sail  down  the  Creek  for  St.  Johns,  or  some  one  of 
Colonel  Reed's  possessions  on  the  York  side  of  the  lake, 
near  its  northern  extremity. 

Thus  terminated  this  unique  and  curious  contest, 
which  proved  to  be  the  last  one  of  any  magnitude  that 
occurred  between  the  New  Hampshire  grantees  and  the 
Yorkers,  for  the  possession  of  the  soil  within  the  dis- 
puted territory.  The  place  being  thus  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  they  immediately  reinstated 
the  owners  and  former  occupants,  and  soon  after, 
strengthening  and  enlarging  the  defences  into  a  more 
regular  fortress,  they  posted  a  small,  permanent  force 
there  to  prevent  so  important  a  position  from  falling 
again  into  the  hands  of  the.  Yorkers,  or  any  new  set  of 
minions  which  the  late  military  aggressor  might  see  fit  to 
send  on  for  a  second  forcible  seizure.  No  further  at- 
tempt, however,  was  made  to  wrest  the  place  from  their 
hands  ;  nor  did  any  of  the  late  offenders  ever  make  their 
appearance  in  the  place,  except  the  brave  and  honest, 
though  strangely  mistaken  Mcintosh,  who,  indeed,  after 
a  while  returned,  but  with  views  not  a  little  altered.  For 
becoming  by  some  means  undeceived  as  to  the  nature  ot 
his  late  trust,  and  being  excessively  mortified  at  the  de- 
velopment, which  robbed  him,  in  his  own  estimation,  of 
nearly  all  the  glory  he  had  gained  in  defending  it,  he 
seemed  to  have  forsworn  the  military,  for  a  more  quiet 
profession.  And  purchasing  a  farm  in  the  neighborhood, 
he  settled  down  upon  it,  and,  in  the  peaceable  pur- 
suits of  agriculture,  spent  the  remainder  of  an  unusually 
'ong  life,  no  less  respected  for  scrupulous  honesty,  than 
listinguished  for  the  whimsical  absurdities  that  occa- 
sionally marked  his  conduct.* 

But  there  is  one  of  the  conquered  band  whom  we  have 
no  notion  of  disposing  of  in  so  summary  a  manner — we 

*  Mcintosh  died  in  the  town  of  Panton,  Vt.,  near  the  place  of 
the  exploits  here  described,  in  the  year  1813,  I  think. 


THE  GREEN  MO,  i  NTAIN  BOYS.  /& 

mean  the  heroine  of  the  parry — the  spirited,  wild,  way- 
ward, and  beautiful  Jessy  Reed,  who  was,  indeed,  no  other 
than  the  daughter  of  t lie  usurping1  Colonel.  The  singu- 
larity of  the  position  which  our  band  found  her  occupying 
ut  this  place,  and  the  attending  circumstances,  we  will 
give  her  an  opportunity  of  hereafter  explaining,  and  con. 
lent  ourselves  for  the  present  with  a  few  words  respecting 
hei-  destination,  and  the  manner  of  her  departure  from 
the  scene  where  she  was  introduced  to  the  reader.  In- 
stead of  going  with  Mcintosh  and  his  men  to  the  north, 
she  had  expressed  a  wish  to  proceed  to  the  residence  of  a 
family  with  whom  her  father  was  intimate,  living  near 
the  south  end  of  the  lake.  But  the  large  boats  being  all 
required  to  transport  the  effects,  and  the  hands  needed  to 
man  them,  an  open  skiff,  and  one  man  to  row  it,  were  the 
^nly  accommodations  that  could  well  be  afforded  her 
Still  she  persisted  in  her  determination.  But  should  she 
be  permitted  to  embark  with  no  more  attendants?  The 
air  of  extreme  novelty  attending  this  singular  girl,  to- 
gether  with  her  personal  attractions,  had  from  the  first 
made  a  strong  impression  on  the  mind  of  Selden.  He 
began  with  playing  the  soother — succeeded,  and  became 
her  attendant,  the  evening  after  the  affray,  in  a  twilight 
walk  a.'ongthe  banks  of  the  Otter,  during  which  he  was  as 
much  surprised  at  the  exhibition  of  intelligence  and  wit, 
into  which  he  had  artfully  drawn  her,  as  charmed  and  inter- 
ested with  her  beauty,  and  a  certain  piquancy  and  dash 
of  romance  which  nature  and  a  semi-military  education  had 
thrown  into  her  character.  But  how  far  this  interest  was 
reciprocated,  he  had  no  means  of  judging.  And  should 
lie  now  offer  to  become  her  attendant  on  her  proposed 
voyage  through  the  lake,  would  the  offer  be  received? 
Would  she  suffer  to  attend  her  one  of  those  who  had 
wrested  away  her  father's  possessions ;  one  from  whom 
me  yesterday  recoiled  as  from  the  touch  of  a  viper,  brand- 
ing  him  with  the  epithets  of  villain  and  monster?  Sud- 
den metamorphoses  are  no  miracles  in  this  changing  world, 
thought  Selden,  and  a  failure  in  this  case  shall  not  happen 
from  the  want  of  an  attempt.  He  delicately  made  the 
proposal.    She  hesitated,  blushed  a  little,  and  accepted. 

*'  Was  ever  woman  in  such  humor  woo'd?" 


80  THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"  And  I  methinks,  till  I  am  old, 
A  fairer  maid  shall  ne'er  behold — 
The  sloping  lawn,  the  cottage  snjatt. 
The  outspread  lake,  the  waterfall, 
And  thou  the  spirit  of  them  all !  " 

A  pew  miles  from  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Cham  plain 
and  nearly  opposite  to  Crown  Point,  where  now  rnouldei 
the  ruins  of  oiieof  the  oldest  fortresses  in  North  America, 
a  bald,  jagged,  and  desolate-looking  peak,  known  by  the 
ungracious  appellation  of  Snake  Mountain,  stands  frown 
ing  over  the  surrounding  levels  in  solitary  and  repulsive 
grandeur.  This  detached  and  lofty  mountain,  being  the 
highest  and  indeed  the  only  eminence  of  any  magnitude, 
in  all  that  extensive  and  beautiful  tract  of  country  lying 
between  the  lake  and  Otter  Creek  for  the  last  thirty 
miles  of  its  course,  served  afnong  the  settlers,  before  roads 
were  much  opened  in  this  part  of  the  wilderness,  as  a 
guide,  or  land-mark  for  all  those  who  had  occasion  to 
travel  the  woodlands  in  this  vicinity.  And  Warrington, 
after  safely  establishing  his  friends  in  their  possessions 
at  the  Lower  Falls,  and  despatching  a  small  band  of  his 
forces  in  pursuit  of  the  York  Surveyor,  repaired,  with  the 
remainder  of  his  men,  to  the  western  brow  of  this  mount 
ain,  as  a  rendezvous  to  which  his  whole  party  were  to 
assemble  when  the  surveyor  was  secured,  proposing  to 
employ  the  interim  in  making  observations  preparatory 
to  some  contemplated  operations  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  place.  He  was,  as  the  reader  has  already  been 
apprised,  the  owner,  under  a  New  Hampshire  Grant  of  a 
considerable  body  of  wild  land,  lying  along  the  shore  of 
the  lake,  upon  a  part  of  which,  he  had  been  informed, 
some  one  had  entered  under  color  of  a  York  title.  And 
as  the  tract  of  land  in  question  was  situated  between  this 
mountain  and  the  lake,  it  was  now  his  intention  to  ascer- 
tain whether  the  information  he  had  received  was  correct, 
and,  if  found  to  be  so,  to  take  measures  for  ejecting  the 
intruder,  whose  name  even  was  unknown  to  him.  With 
this  object  in  view,  our  leader,  leaving  his  men  to  prepara 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  81 

4  shelter  for  their  temporary  quarters,  took  his  rifle,  and 
set  off  alone  through  the  woods  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  improvements  of  the  supposed  intruder  were  said  to 
be  located.  After  travelling  some  miles  in  this  direction, 
he  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  last  offset,  in  the  lakeward 
slope  of  the  country,  before  reaching  the  shore,  which 
now  appeared  a  short  distance  in  front,  while  an  opening 
of  considerable  extent  became  visible  on  the  left.  Ap- 
proaching the  skirt  of  this  opening,  and  carefully  notic- 
ing the  natural  landmarks  around  it,  he  soon  became 
convinced  that  the  whole  clearing,  with  all  the  improve- 
ments, was  embraced  within  the  boundaries  described  in 
hisown  patent.  Having  satisfied  himself  in  this  respect, 
he  now  turned  his  attention  more  particularly  to  the  im- 
provements themselves,  and  felt  a  degree  of  surprise  on 
witnessing  their  comparative  extent  and  superiority  over 
the  rest  of  those  of  this  recently  settled  country.  The 
house  was  uncommonly  neat  and  comfortable  in  its  ap- 
pearance, and  very  pleasantly  situated  on  the  green  and 
graduated  margin  of  a  beautiful  little  brook,  that  mean- 
dered, with  many  a  glittering  cascade,  through  a  smooth 
meadow,  and  entered  the  woods  a  few  rods  below  the 
spot  where  he  stood.  The  out-house,  barn,  garden,  and 
everything  around,  were  in  good  keeping — all  going  to 
furnish  unequivocal  indication,  that  enterprise,  taste, 
and  some  degree  of  wealth,  had  here  been  employed.  Much 
did  Warrington  wonder  who  could  be  the  enterprising 
occupant,  who  had  accomplished  all  this  in  so  short  a 
time,  and  still  more,  that  it  could  have  been  done  with- 
out more  particular  intelligence  reaching  him  respecting 
it.  But  whoever  he  might  be,  it  was  not  probable  that 
he  would  part  with  such  fair  possessions  without  a  strug- 
gle; and  as  a  garrison  was  near,  the  troops  of  which 
were  understood  to  be  in  the  York  interest,  and  stood 
ready,  doubtless,  to  protect  the  intruder,  Warrington  at 
once  saw  that  a  considerable  force  might  be  necessary  to 
dispossess  him,  and  even  should  the  attempt  be  success- 
fully made,  the  same  force  might  be  required  to  be  per- 
manently stationed  there  to  defend  it.  After  revolving 
this  subject  in  his  mind  awhile,  he  concluded  to  de- 
fer it  for  further  consideration,  and  perhaps  for  a  con- 
sultation with  his  companions ;  and  now  dismissing  tha 
6 


82  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY  A 

matter  from  his  mind,  he  again  gave  his  attention  to  the 
inviting  prospect  around  him.  The  day  was  bright  and 
tranquil ;  the  balmy  breath  of  spring,  wafted  over  flow- 
ering field  and  budding  forest,  was  dallying  with  the 
whispering  pines  above,  thus  gratifying  one  sense  with 
delicious  odors,  and  soothing  another  with  the  soft  and 
dying  murmurs  of  ^Eolian  melody.  The  long  tract  of 
the  far-stretching  waters  of  the  lake,  sleeping  in  the  rays 
of  the  descending  sun,  shone  with  dazzling  brightness, 
which,  at  intervals,  was  beautifully  relieved  by  the  dark 
green  islands  which  studded  the  glittering  expanse.  The 
sloping  uplands  beyond,  which  reanimating  nature  was 
just  beginning  to  clothe  in  the  green  vesture  of  summer, 
rose  up  from  the  long  line  of  nodding  pines  that  lined 
the  western  margin  of  the  lake,  in  beautiful  perspective, 
each  individual  feature  of  the  landscape  becoming  more  and 
more  indistinct  in  the  mellowing  distance,  till  the  view  wras 
terminated  by  the  last  long  ridge  of  climacteric  mountains, 
whose  tall  ice-clad  peaks,  .fiercely  flashing  in  the  sun, 
were  marked  in  bold  outlines  against  the  cloudless  blue 
of  the  heavens.  A  solitary  flag  was  waving  over  the 
massy  and  frowning  walls  of  the  opposite  fortress,  on 
which  the  Mene  Tekel  had  already  been  traced  by  the 
unseen  hand  that  writes  the  destinies  of  nations :  for 
the  emblem  Hon,  that  there  now  proudly  floated  on  the 
breeze,  and  glorying  in  his  strength  and  prowess,  seemed 
bidding  defiance  to  the  world,  was  doomed,  before  many 
revolving  suns  had  finished  their  daily  course,  to  be 
plucked  down  by  those,  who  were  alike  fearless  in  their 
resistance  to  oppression,  whether  coming  from  a  sister 
colony  or  a  parent  country. 

While  Warrington,  who  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of 
nature,  with  whom  he  particularly  loved  to  commune  in 
the  solitudes  of  the  forest,  where  her  empire  was  undis- 
turbed by  the  works  of  art,  was  giving  his  soul  to  the  mag- 
nificent prospect  before  him,  he  was  recalled  from  his  ibv- 
erieby  the  light  plashing  of  oars  in  the  waters  below.  _  And 
turning  his  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  he  indis- 
tinctly discerned  through  the  trees  a  small  skiff  approach- 
ing the  shore  of  the  lake,  rowed  by  a  single  person,  who,  on 
reaching  his  landing,  drew  up  his  boat,  and,  after  taking 
out  of  it  a  gun,  ascended  the  bank.    As  he  emerged  from 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS.  83 

the  thick  underwood  that  skirted  the  shore  into  the  more 
open  forest,  and  advanced  into  the  higher  grounds, 
Warrington  soon  discovered,  from  his  uniform,  that  he 

was  a  soldier,  or  some  subaltern,  from  the  fort,  who  had 
come  over,  he  concluded,  in  search  of  the  partridge,  or 
other  light  game,  with  which  the  woods  here  very  plen- 
tifully abounded.  The  man  still  continued  leisurely  to 
advance  into  the  forest  till  he  had  reached  the  runlet  be- 
fore mentioned*  when  something  on  his  right,  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  clearing,  seemed  suddenly  to  attract  his 
notice.  And,  after  pausing  awhile  in  apparent  doubt 
and  indecision,  he  began  somewhat  cautiously,  and  with 
an  air  of  hesitation,  to  move  forward  towards  the  object 
which  had  arrested  his  attention,  and  which  he  still  ap- 
peared to  keep  anxiously  in  view.  Our  leader,  who  in 
the  meanwhile  kept  his  stand  unobserved,  supposing  the 
other  had  sprung  some  game  at  which  he  was  endeavor- 
ing to  obtain  a  favorable  shot,  continued,  with  a  sort  of 
listless  curiosity,  to  watch  his  motions,  till  he  had  passed 
out  of  sight  behind  an  intervening  copsewood  of  low  firs, 
that  thickly  extended  along  the  slope,  some  half  dozen 
rods  from  the  clearing.  In  a  few  moments,  and  as  the 
former  yet  stood  patiently  listening  for  the  report  of  the 
expected  shot,  the  voice  of  a  female,  coming  from  the 
quarter  to  which  his  attention  was  directed,  and  uttering 
a  slight  cry,  as  of  mingled  surprise  and  alarm,  reached 
his  ear.  The  voice  of  the  man  was  next  heard  in  the 
earnest,  though  flurried  tones  of  seeming  entreaty,  which 
appeared  to  be  followed  by  a  hasty  movement  towards 
the  object  addressed, — and  in  a  moment  more  a  piercing 
shriek  rose  wildly  from  the  spot.  Grasping  his  rifle,  and 
plunging  into  the  thicket,  Warrington  bounded  down 
the  hill  with  the  speed  of  a  wild  deer  towards  the  scene ; 
and  in  another  instant  the  parties  were  revealed  to  his 
sight — a  young  lady  of  the  most  interesting  exterior,  with 
uer  hair  loosened  and  falling  in  disorder  over  her  neck 
and  shoulders,  and  her  flushed  countenance  eloquent 
with  indignation  and  alarm,  as  with  haif-averted  face  she 
struggled  to  free  herseh  from  the  fellow,  who,  by  a  grasp 
of  one  hand  on  her  garment,  was  endeavoring  to  detain 
ner  in  her  attempted  flight.  One  glance  at  the  victim 
of  this  rude  assault  sufficed  to  tell  the  unexpecting  and 


«4         THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

astonished  Warrington  that  the  fair  original  of  that  pic- 
ture, which  had  been  so  long  engraven  on  his  heart,  was 
before  him,  requiring  his  instant  aid  and  protection. 

"Back!  ruffian,  back  1 "  exclaimed  he,  as  with  levelled 
piece  he  rushed  upon  the  soldier,  who  stood  mute  and 
3onfounded  before  so  unlooked-for  an  apparition  ;  "back! 
X  Say — unhand  the  lady,  or  you  die  on  the  spot ! " 

Quailing  beneath  the  stern  and  withering  glances  of 
the  other  the  abashed  aggressor  immediately  relinquished 
his  hold  on  the  girl,  and  muttering  a  denial  of  any  in- 
tentional wrong  and  a  few  curses  at  the  interference  ol 
Warrington,  shrunk  away  and  disappeared  in  the  woods. 

"  I  am  much  indebted  to  you,  sir,"  said  the  still  agitated 
maiden,  scarcely  audibly/her  eyes  timidly  bent  on  the 
ground,  as  her  'protector  now  gently  advanced  to  her 

side. 

«Miss  Hendee"— said  Warrington,  hesitatingly,  after 
an  awkward  silence  of  a  moment;  "  do  I  not  behold  mj 
former  acquaintance,  Miss  Alma  Hendee?" 

"  Mr.  Howard  ?  *  exclaimed  the  girl,  as  with  deep  sur- 
prise she  now  for  the  first  time  lifted  her  eyes  to  scan 
the  features  of  her  before  unrecognized  deliverer. 

A  slight  flush  passed  over  the  face  of  the  other,  on  hear- 
ing himself  addressed  by  that  name,  and  he  opened  his 
lips  as  if  to  correct  his  fair  friend,  but  a  second  thought 
seemed  to  repress  the  expression  of  the  first,  and,  quickly 
recovering  from  his  hesitation,  he  observed,  "I  little 
thought  to  have  met  you  here,  Miss  Hendee.  I  could 
almost  forgive  the  wretch  who  caused  you  this  fright, 
since  he  has  been  the  means  of  my  meeting  again  with 
one  whom  I  have  never  ceased  to  remember  with  pleasure. 
But  you  have  companions  near,  surely?" 

"No  nearer  than  tin  house,  from  which  I  wandered 
down  the  run  just  now,  and,  tempted  by  these  flowerets 
peeping  up  along  the  banks,  extended  my  ramble,  perhaps 
imprudently,  thus  far  into  the  woods." 

"And  is  this  fair  situation,  then,  your  home— the 
residence  of  your  father  ?  " 

"  Certainly  it  is,"  replied  Miss  Hendee,  resuming  her 
natural  cheerfulness;  "why,  surely,  Mr.  Howard,  you 
did  not  suppose  I  had  turned  wood-nymph  to  wander  ic 
the  forests,  and  house  in  the  caves— did  you  ?  " 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTH.  85 

*I  hardly  knew  what  to  think,  for  it  never  occurred  to 
M)e  that  the  father  of  Alma  llendee  could  be  in  possession 
of  this  beautiful  opening." 

44  And  why  not,  my  dear  sir?  Why,  we  have  been  here 
these  three  years.  And  if  we  have  not  made  the  wilder- 
oess  blossom  like  the  rose,  we  have  at  least  got  so  far 
as  to  make  the  rose  blossom  in  the  wilderness — come, 
you  shall  attend  me  home,  and  see  what  a  pretty  flower- 
garden  I  have  in  progress." 

"To  the  opening,  at  least,"  responded  Warrington, 
obeying  the  motions  of  his  fair  companion. 

"And now,  sir,"  resumed  the  latter  gayly,  as  they  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way,  "having  answered  your  questions, 
let  me  be  the  catechist  awhile,  will  you?  And  in  the 
first  place,  from  what  cload  so  opportunely  dropped  my 
gallant  deliverer,  just  at  the  particular  moment  he  was 
wanted?" 

"I,  too,  am  an  inhabitant  of  the  Green  Mountain  settle- 
ment, though  not  of  this  vicinity,"  answered  the  other ; 
"  and  you  see,"  he  continued,  smilingly  pointing  to  his  rifle, 
"  that  my  old  propensities  still  hang  about  me  ;  and  for 
the  present  you  must  take  this  as  an  explanation  of 
my  wandering  into  this  section  of  the  country.  I  had 
just  arrived  at  the  border  of  the  woods  up  yonder,  and 
was  viewing  your  delightful  situation,  when  your  cries 
brought  me  to  your  side." 

"I  am  half  ashamed  of  the  noise  I  made,"  rejoined  the 
lady,  "  and  I  presume  it  was  unnecessary.  He  has  occa- 
sionally been  at  our  house  j  and  how  far  he  considered 
himself  warranted  on  such  an  acquaintance  to  obtrude 
himself  as  he  did,  I  know  not.  But  being  startled  by  the 
fellow's  unexpected  appearance,  and  uncertain,  from  his 
hesitating  and  equivocal  manner,  what  might  be  the 
nature  of  the  proposals  which  he  said  he  wished  to  make, 
and  which  at  last  he  seemed  determined  I  should  stop  to 
hear,  I  became  much  alarmed,  I  will  confess;  though  1 
should  feel  excessively  mortified  to  have  any  stir  made 
about  it.  I  hope  you  will  not  mention  the  affair  to  my 
father  when  we  get  home?" 

"  Certainly  not,  if  it  is  your  wish — that  is,  I  would  not, 
if  I  were  to  see  him,"  replied  Warrington,  pausing,  w 
they  now  came  into  the  open  field. 


86  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  But  surely,  sir,  you  will  go  to  the  house  ?  My  fathel 
will  be  very  much  pleased  to  renew  his  acquaintance  with 
his  Doctor  Hunter,  as  he  would  always  persist  in  calling 
you." 

"  Your  kind  invitation,  believe  me,  Miss  Hendee,  is 
most  gratefully  received ;  but  I  think  it  would  hardly  be 
advisable  for  me  at  this  time  to  accept  it." 

"And  why  not? — so  near,  and  not  visit  us?  I  know 
my  father  will  be  delighted  to  see  you,  and  have  yon  spend 
several  days  with  us — particularly  so,  I  imagine,  at  the 
present  time,  when  he  is  not  without  apprehensions  of  an 
attack  from  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  as  they  call  them. 
Why,  did  you  know  that  a  band  of  these  men  have,  for 
several  days  past,  been  ravaging  the  settlement  along 
Otter  Creek,  headed  by  that  terrible  fellow,  Captain  War- 
rington ?  " 

"  I  heard,"  replied  the  other,  confused  and  stammering 
at  this  unexpected  question,  and  the  commentary  on  his 
own  character  which  he  perceived  it  involved  in  the  mind 
of  his  fair  companion,  "  I  heard — that  is,  I  was  aware  that 
the  person  you  mention  had  come  into  this  part  of  the 
country.  But  your  father  need  be  under  no  apprehen. 
sion  on  that  account;"  he  continued,  regaining  his  com- 
posure, "for  I  think  I  can  very  safely  answer  for  War- 
rington, that  neither  he,  nor  any  of  his  followers  shall 
ever  disturb  the  father  of  Alma  Hendee." 

"You  can!  can  you?  But  why  couple  my  name  so 
very  oddly  with  that  of  this  fearful  man  ? — I  do  not  fully 
comprehend— I  know  there  are  two  parties  in  this  settle- 
ment, and  I  suppose  he  and  his  company  pretend  to  be 
acting  for  the  New  Hampshire  party.  Perhaps  you  be 
long  to  this  party,  and  know  him,  and  can  influence  him 
in  our  behalf?  Oh!  if  you  would! — But  come,  do  go  to 
the  house  with  me,  and  assure  my  father  of  this." 

"Not  now — another  time — perhaps   to-morrow  I  may 

visit  you — that  is  if "  and  Warrington  paused   and 

hesitated,  as  if  doubtful  whether  to  proceed,  Avhile,  with  a 
waiting  and  wondering  expression,  the  girl  stood  earnestly 
looking  him  in  the  face.  "  Miss  Hendee,"  he  at  length 
resumed,  somewhat  pensively,  "you  left  the  place  which 
afforded  me  the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance  unexpect- 
edly,— quite  so  to  rae.    On  my  return  a  day  or  two  aftef 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  87 

our  lest  interview,  to  ray  great  disappointment,  T  found 
you  were  gone — whither,  I  was  never  able  to  discover." 

"  We  intended  you  no  disrespect,  however,  Mr.  Howard, 
in  leaving  thus  unceremoniously,"  replied  the  girl,  ex- 
changing the  free  and  cordial,  for  ;i  more  guarded  and 
distant  manner,  as  if  she  instinctively  anticipated  what 
was  to  follow.  "My  father,  who,  as  you  are  aware,  had 
ihen  become  able  to  resume  his  journey,,  gained  some  in- 
formation from  a  traveller,  who  called  in  your  absence, 
which  led  him  to  determine  on  leaving  the  place  the  next 
morning.  I  should  certainly  have  been  happy  at  that  time 
to  see  you  again  and  apprise  you  of  our  departure." 

"At  that  time"   rejoined  the  other,  catching  the  em 
phasis,  and  slowly,  and  with  a  tone  of  disappointment, 
repeating  the  expression,  "at  that  tune" — and  have  Miss 
Hendee's  feelings,  then,  changed  since  I  last  saw  her?" 

"  I  then  esteemed  you,  Mr.  Howard,  much — very  much, 
indeed,"  she  evasively  replied,  looking  down,  while  her 
fingers  were  busy  in  tearing  a  flower  that  she  had  plucked 
by  the  way:  "  I  thought  highly  of  you — very;  and  I  still 
know  not  why  I  should  not  regard  you  with  the  same 
respect." 

"  Hespect,  my  dear  Miss  Ilendee,  is  a  term  that  falls 
coldly  on  the  ears  of  those  who  are  looking,  or  at  least 
hoping,  for  a  warmer  expression.  You  were  sensible, 
were  you  not,  that,  at  the  time  to  which  we  have  been 
alluding,  I  was  cherishing  for  you  a  tenderer  sentiment?'1 

"  I  had  no  right  to  understand  so,"  tremulously  replied 
the  lovely  listener,  the  quick  heavings  of  whose  bosom 
plainly  told  the  tumult  that  had  been  awakened  within ; 
'*  you  certainly  made  no  professions  that  would  warrant 
me  in  such  a  belief." 

"Miss  Hendee,"  resumed  the  other,  after  a  pause,  "you 
were,  if  I  rightly  understood  your  character,  as  I  presume 
you  are  now,  a  frank  and  ingenuous  girl.  May  1  then 
not  hope,  that,  in  kindness  to  me,  you  will  give  a  frank 
answer  to  a  question  which  I  would  ask  you?" 

"  If  a  proper  one." 

"If  then  a  profession,  which  I  intended  to  have  mad« 
you  had  opportunity  been  allowed,  were  to  be  made 
now,  are  there  more  obstacles  now,  than  then,  to  prevent 
\h  being  favorably  received?" 


88  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

She  made  no  reply,  and  Warrington,  stealing  a  glance 
at  her  averted  face,  perceived  that  her  eyes  were  suffused 
with  tears. 

"There  is,  indeed,  then,  one  between  us,"  at  length 
said  the  other  sadly. 

"There  is,"  was  the  reply  in  a  tone  of  regret,  which 
should  have  satisfied  even  the  monopolizing  heart  of  a 
lover.  But  love  with  men,  oftener  than  otherwise 
wholly  blind  to  policy,  is  rarely  content  to  rest  satisfied 
with  those  indirect  expressions  and  delicate  intimations, 
which  are  a  surer  proof  of  its  existence  in  the  female 
heart  than  the  most  open  declarations,  and,  absurdly 
craving  more,  is  not  unfrequently  compelled  to  put  up 
with  less.     It  was  thus  with  our  lover  as  he  rejoined — 

"  May  I  not  have  the  happiness  to  hear  those  lips 
declare  that  my  affection  has  been  in  some  measure 
reciprocated?" 

Still  there  was  no  reply. 

"Am  I  to  understand,"  resumed  Warrington,  "that 
Miss  ITendee  has  pledged  her  hand  irrevocably  ?  And 
can  it  be  that  she  has  pledged  herself  too  for  a  union  into 
which  her  heart  can  never  enter?" 

"What  have  I  said,  Mr.  Howard,"  replied  the  girl, 
looking  up  with  the  air  of  offended  pride,  "  to  warrant 
such  questions?  With  some,  perhaps,  I  might  not  be 
slow  to  resent  your  intimation.  And  as  it  is,"  she  con- 
tinued with  great  dignity,  "you  will  hold  me  excused,  I 
trust,  for  declining  to  commune  further  on  a  subject 
which  should  now  be  as  uninteresting  to  you,  as  it  is 
embarrassing,  and  even  painful  to  me." 

*'  Surely,  surely !  dearest  lady,  you  cannot  believe  that 
I  would  intentionally  offend?"  said  the  disconcerted 
lover.  "  We  will,  however,  dismiss  this  subject  for  the 
present,  if  so  unpleasant." 

"  For  the  present,  and  forever  !  n 

"If  it  must  be  so — and  yet " 

"No  more,  no  more — I  know  not  even  that  I  have  done 
right  in  listening  to  what  you  have  already  said,  or 
remaining  here  so  long.  You  will  now  receive  my  adieu, 
and  excuse  my  immediate  return." 

"  One  moment  yet— you  will  not  deny  me  another  in« 
ierview  ?  n 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS,  89 

*At  my  father's  house,  and  in  my  father's  presence 
most  certainly  not." 

"  Even  on  these  hard  conditions,  I  will,  then,  soon  seek 
it — cruel  one,  adieu." 

"  Adieu ! "  responded  the  beauteous  girl,  as,  tripping 
lightly  away,  she  looked  back  with  a  smile  so  eloquently 
sweet,  it  erased  in  an  instant  the  effect  of  every  fiown 
she  had  given,  and  every  negative  she  had  uttered,  from 
the  mind  of  her  repulsed,  but  not  despairing  lover. 

The  progress  we  have  now  made  in  our  story  makes  it 
necessary  to  recur  to  some  incidents  of  an  earlier  date, 
connected  with  several  of  our  leading  personages,  and 
having  a  bearing  on  the  events  yet  to  follow: — 

Some  three  or  four  years  previous  to  the  even'  i  just 
related,  and  when  the  settlers  were  first  meditating  an 
open  resistance  to  the  authorities  of  oSTew  York,  it  be- 
came an  object  with  the  former  to  ascertain  how  far  the 
government  of  that  province  was  there  sustained  in  its 
attempted  aggression  on  the  Grants,  by  the  feelings  and 
opinions  of  the  people  at  large — whether,  indeed,  there 
did  not  exist  among  that  people,  especially  those  living 
near  the  disputed  territory,  a  considerable  degree  of 
sympathy  for  the  settlers  in  their  unrighteous  persecu 
tions.  For  in  the  event  of  such  a  sympathy,  the  latter 
believed  that  the  meditated  resistance  might  he  ventured 
upon  with  safety,  or  with  safety,  at  least,  when  compared 
with  a  case  where  the  feelings  of  the  people  were  enlisted 
on  the  side  of  the  government.  It  was  therefore  de- 
termined  that  an  emissary  should  be  sent  into  the  part  of 
iSTew  York  lying  contiguous  to  the  Grants,  who,  travel- 
ling  in  disguise,  or  with  disguised  objects,  should  endeavor 
to  ascertain  the  true  sentiments  and  feelings  of  the  peo- 
ple on  this  subject:  and  Warrington  was  the  rerson 
selected  for  this  delicate,  though  important  enterprise. 
Accordingly  setting  out  alone  with  his  rifle,  and  travel- 
ling on  foot  under  the  assumed  name  of  Howard,  and  in 
the  character  of  a  hunter  and  herbalist,  he  travelled  all 
that  section  of  the  country  into  which  he  had  been  par- 
ticularly sent,  calling  at  almost  every  house  in  his  course 
and  mingling  with  all  companies  and  classes  in  pursuing 
the  objects  of  his  secret  mission.  And  it  was  while  on 
this  excursion,  that  he  accidentally  formed  the  interest- 


90  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS, 

ing  acquaintance,  of  which  the  reader  has  already  beeii 
apprised.  Happening  on  one  of  the  main  roads  leading 
from  the  east  to  Albany,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  gentle- 
man and  lady  in  a  carriage,  travelling  towards  the  last 
mentioned  place.  They  had  passed  by  him  hut  a  few 
rods,  however,  before  the  horse  suddenly  took  fright  and 
overturned  the  carriage,  by  which  the  man  was  seriously 
hurt,  though  the  lady  fortunately  escaped  with  little  in- 
jury. Springing  forward  to  their  aid,  Warrington,  after 
securing  the  horse  with  no  little  difficulty  and  danger, 
turned  his  attention  to  the  travellers,  who  proved  to  be  a 
father  and  daughter  of  the  name  of  Ilendee.  Assisting 
the  wounded  man  into  his  vehicle,  and  placing  his  daugh- 
ter hy  his  side  to  support  him,  he  attended  them,  leading 
the  horse  to  the  nearest  habitation,  which  was  a  poor  inn 
not  far  from  the  place  of  the  accident.  And  having 
formerly  been  placed  in  circumstances  in  which  he  had 
gained  considerable  practical  knowledge  of  medicine,  he, 
in  the  absence  of  a  regular  physician  in  that  thinly  set. 
tied  country,  undertook  the  cure  of  the  invalid  himself, 
closely  attending  him  till  he  became  convalescent,  and 
repeating  his  visits,  at  short  intervals,  during  the  two  or 
three  weeks  that  elapsed  before  the  patient  was  able  to 
resume  his  journey.  And  it  was  during  these  visits,  in 
which  he  had  evidently  found  great  favor  in  the  eyes  of 
both  father  and  daughter,  by  the  kindness  and  delicacy 
of  his  attentions,  that  he  had  contracted  an  intimacy  with 
the  latter,  which  soon  passed  the  ordinary  boundaries 
of  friendship,  and  ripened  into  that  blissful  state  of  the 
affections,  which  constitutes,  perhaps,  the  most  purely 
happy  period  in  the  course  of  love — when  the  feelings  of 
parties  are  tacitly  understood  and  appreciated  by  each, 
other,  before  an  open  avowal  occurs  to  throw  with  its 
business-like  aspect,  the  first  shade  of  earth  over  this 
paradise  of  the  heart.  It  was  at  this  interesting  stage  of 
the  intimacy  that  Warrington  returned  one  day,  after  a 
longer  absence  than  usual,  and  found,  to  his  great  dis- 
appointment and  regret,  that  Ilendee  and  his  daughter 
had  departed  the  day  before,  without  leaving  any  note  or 
message,  as  he  then  could  learn,  explanatory  of  their  un- 
announced, and,  to  him  unexpected,  departure.  Believing 
from  this,  that  he  might  have  been,  perhaps,  deceived  in 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  91 

regard  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  interest  which  he 
had  flattered  himself  he  had  created  in  the  bosom  of  Miss 
Hendee,  and  feeling  a  little  piqued  at  this  appearance  of 
neglect  on  the  part  of  both  father  and  daughter,  he  soon 
ceased  his  unavailing  inquiries  concerning  the  family.  And 
he  had  never  heard  anything  further  respecting  them,  or 
received  the  slightest  information  of  the  place  of  their  sub- 
sequent residence,  except  the  vague  and  uncertain  information 
wh  .h  he  gathered  in  his  adventure  at  the  subterraneous 
abode  before  described,  from  that  time  to  the  present  hour, 
when  to  his  utter  surprise,  he  found  them  located  on  his 
own  land.  And  now  having  no  suspicion  that  they  were 
conscious  of  intruding  on  the  rights  of  another,  and  last 
of  all,  his  own.  in  taking  up  this  place  under  a  York  patent, 
and  still  cherishing  all  his  former  sentiments  for  the  daugh- 
ter, whose  heart  he  believed  he  still  retained,  notwithstand- 
ing the  claims  of  another  to  her  hand,  he  resolved  to  re- 
linquish his  right  to  the  land,  and  even  keep  his  ownership, 
if  possible,  a  secret  from  the  family,  while  he  should  prose- 
cute his  suit  with  the  girl,  at  least  till  he  had  unravelled 
the  mystery  that  still  seemed  to  hang  over  her,  and  become 
better  satisfied  of  the  hopelessness  of  his  case. 

Revolving  this  subject  in  his  mind,  he  returned  to  his 
encampment,  and  announced  to  his  wondering  compan- 
ions, that  he  should  have  no  occasion  to  employ  them  in 
the  affair  which,  as  they  were  apprised,  he  had  been  to 
investigate. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"Let   us  be   conjunctive  in   our   revenge." 
'"Tis  lucky!  I  can  work  my   purposes, 
While    seeming    but   to   do   the    state    a   service." 

Perhaps  there  is  no  kind  of  hatred,  that  finds  harbor 
in  the  human  breast,  more  deadly  and  inveterate  than 
that  which  is  entertained  by  the  perpetrators  of  base  ac- 
tions against  those  who  have  detected  them  in  guilt.  Nor 
does  the  degree  of  inveteracy  with  which  this  fiendish 
feeling    is    secretly    cherished  by    the    former,   appear    to 


92  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

be  very  often  lessened  by  any  forbearance  which  may  b6 
exercised  by  the  latter  in  not  exposing  their  baseness,  or 
bringing  them  to  punishment.  We  will  not  detain  the 
reader,  however,  with  any  speculations  of  our  own  on  this 
dark  and  somewhat  singular  leaf  in  the  history  of  the 
human  passions,  but  leave  the  subject  to  be  illustrated  by 
those  incidents  of  our  story,  by  which  these  remarks 
were  here  suggested. 

When  the  discomfited  soldier  retreated  from  the  pres- 
ence of  Warrington  and  the  rescued  maiden,  he  concealed 
himself  in  a  thicket,  from  which  he  could  espy  the  move- 
ments of  the  couple  till  they  separated.  And  when  this 
had  taken  place,  he  proceeded  directly  to  his  boat,  and 
entering  it,  pushed  for  the  opposite  shore,  plying  his  oars 
with  a  sort  of  nervous  and  spiteful  energy,  as  if  impelled 
by  the  commingling  feelings  of  chagrin  and  revenge,  that 
were  working  within  him  at  the  thoughts  of  his  defeat, 
and  the  consciousness  that  he  had  disgraced  himself  for- 
ever in  the  eyes  of  the  girl,  as  well  as  exposed  himself  to 
the  contempt  and  abhorrence  of  her  deliverer. 

"Fool!  fool!"  he  angrily  muttered  to  himself,  as  he 
urged  his  skiff  through  the  waters,  which,  as  if  in  mockery 
at  the  dark  turmoil  of  his  breast,  were  now  sparkling  in 
cheerful  brightness  in  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun; 
"  stupid  fool,  to  think  a  timid  girl  would  listen  to  me  in 
such  a  place !  and  more  fool  still  to  manage  so  blunder- 
ingly as  to  alarm  her,  when,  if  I  had  begun  right,  I  might 
have  told  her  all,  or  at  least  found  out  whether  she 
would  have  made  it  to  my  advantage  to  do  it.  And  then 
to  mend  the  matter,  I  must  try,  in  ray  eagerness,  to  stop 
tier !  which  brought  down  that  cursed  interloper  upon 
me,  as  if  the  old  boy  sent  him  just  at  that  moment  to  make 
an  affair  out  of  the  trifle  t  I  wonder  what  they  supposed 
I  wanted  to  do?— that  is  plain,  however,  what  they 
thought;  but  they  are  mistaken:  Bill  Darrow  for  once 
is  accused  of  what  he  is  not  guilty!  ha!  ha!  ain't  that  a 
curiosity!  Well,  the  plan,  like  every  woman  plan  I  ever 
laid,  is  all  blown  to  the  devil  now,  1  suppose;  though  I 
can  yet  bring  it  about  with  the  old  man,  if  I  choose.     But 

that  scoundrel,  d n  him  1  whoever  he  may  be,  I'll  dog 

him  to  the  death,  but  I'll  pay  him  for  his  rascally  inter- 
ference ! " 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BO  F8.  93 

While  thus  reasoning  and  raving  by  turns,  in  the  way 
of  sooth'ng  his  smarting  feelings,  he  had  nearly  reached 
bis  destined  landing,  a  small  cove  about  a  furlong  north 
of  the  fort,  when  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  man  standing 
among  the  bushes  on  the  shore,  apparently  awaiting  the 
approach  of  the  boat. 

"  Ah !  who  have  we  here  ?  "  resumed  the  desperado,  as, 
shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand  from  the  blinding  rays  of 
reflected  light  that  fell  in  his  face,  he  threw  a  scrutinizing 
glance  at  the  person  of  the  other;  "why!  can  it  be? — it 
is — Jake  Sherwood  himself!  What  in  the  devil's  name 
brought  him  here  just  at  this  time  ?  Ah !  my  dear  fellow 
you  may  thank  your  good  stars,  and  evil  ones,  that  you 
are  not  by  this  time  pretty  devilishly  well  dished  I  But 
can  he  have  mistrusted  my  good  will?  No,  no! — the 
secret  is  still  my  own,  and  for  the  present  shall  remain  so, 
as  my  best  stock  in  trade.  Yet  what  can  he  want  with 
me?  Some  Beelzebub  errand  to  be  done,  I'll  warrant 
me!  Well,  he  shall  pay  roundly  for  doing  it  besides  shell- 
ing out  something  more  than  promises  on  the  old  score, 
or  I'll  yet  put  him  in  a  spot  he  will  little  relish,  I  am 
thinking." 

"  Well,  Darrow,"  said  Sherwood,  as  the  former  now 
reached  the  shore,  and,  pulling  up  his  boat,  mounted  the 
bank;  "sporting  a  little  over  yonder  this  afternoon,  eh? 
What  luck?  None!  Well,  that  is  the  way  sometimes 
But  come,  take  a  seat  on  this  old  log  here,  in  the  bushes. 
I  should  like  a  little  talk  with  you;  so  lay  aside  that 
grim  scowl  of  yours,  and  be  sociable  once,  if  you  can." 

"Sociable!  hum!  I  should  like  to  know  who  in  hell 
could  feel  sociable,  or  wear  a  decent  face,  while  his  con- 
science is  loaded  down  with  such  soul-damning  secrets  -as 
these  of  yours." 

"My  secretst  ha!  ha!— as  if  they  were  not  youra^ 
too!" 

"And  they  may  be  somebody's  else,  too,  unless  you 
mend  your  manners,  and  show  yourself  a  little  more 
liberal  than  you  have  been  lately,  Jake  Sherwood.  But 
what  brings  you  here  now,  and  what  would  you  have 
with  me?" 

"  Oh,  nothing  very  special  —nothing  of  any  great  co© 
sequence." 


94  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Nothing  very  special,  hey?  When  did  Jake  Sherwood, 
or  his  father  before  him,  ever  call  on  Bill  Darrow  with- 
out a  special  object,  I  should  like  to  know?'' 

"Well,  well,  supposing  I  have  an  errand,  what  then?— 
what  is  there  so  out  of  the  way  in  that,  you  surly  one?" 

"Why,  nothing  out  of  the  way,  but  exactly  in  the  way, 
as  I  said.  But  what  is  the  use  of  puttering  with  your 
roundabout  moonshine? — out  with  it!" 

"Darrow,"  said  the  other,  after  glancing  about  him  as 
if  to  make  sure  that  there  was  no  one  within  hearing; 
"there  are  several  of  the  York  outlaws  prowling  about 
Otter  Creek.  We  came  near  seizing  them  a  few  days  ago 
at  Lake  Dunmore,  though  they  escaped  us,  and  that  was 
not  all — but  no  matter — they,  day  before  yesterday, 
went  down  the  Creek  to  the  Lower  Falls,  and  took,  and 
laid  waste  Colonel  Reed's  plantation  there.  And  their 
leader,  one  Warrington,  with  part  of  his  gang,  has  since 
moved  off  somewhere  in  this  direction.  Now  there  is  a 
reward  of  about  two  hundred  crowns  to  be  had  for  tak- 
ing this  fellow.  I  have  had  my  eye  on  him  some  time, 
and  now  I  have  some  particular  reason  for  wishing  him 
secured." 

"What  kind  of  a  looking  fellow  is  he?"  asked  Darrow, 
with  considerable  interest.     "Do  you  know  him  by  sight?" 

"Yes— a  tall,  square-built,  and  rather  good-looking  fel- 
low— that  is,  he  might  appear  so  to  one  who  did  not  know 
him  for  a  scoundrel." 

"The  same,  by  heavens!"  exclaimed  Darrow,  after  mus- 
ing a  moment.  "Yes,  he  must  be  the  very  fellow  I  saw 
not  two  hours  ago,  as  I  was  skirting  along  Captain  Hen- 
dee's  clearing  over  yonder.  He  was  walking  with  a  woman 
near  the  woods." 

"How!  what  woman? — not   Alma  Hendee?" 

"Can't  say." 

"No,  no,  it  must  have  been  the  maid — and  yet — but  con- 
found the  audacious  scoundrel,  how  came  he  there,  and 
so  soon  acquainted  with  either  maid  or  mistress,  unless 
my  suspicions  are  right?" 

"All  that  you  can  answer  as  well  as  I — though  come 
to  think  more  about  the  woman's  make  and  gear,  I'll  be 
hangea  if  I  don't  believe  that  it  was  the  old  man's 
daughter." 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  95 

"Fire  and  furies!  it  must  be  so." 

"Why,  what  are  you  so  wrathy  about?"  said  Darrow, 
with  a  malicious  smile.  "You  are  not  afraid  the  fellow 
will  run  away  with  your  girl,  are  you,  Jake?" 

"My  girl!  who  told  you  so?  Not  mine,  unless  I  please, 
I  would  have  you  to  know!  No,  no,  sir;  no  fear  of  this 
poltroon  in  that.  But  still  I  can't  exactly  comprehend  the 
movement.  If  he  was  reconnoitring  with  a  view  to  oust- 
ing the  old  man,  would  he  be  walking  out  so  familiarly 
with  his  daughter?  It  don't  look  like  it — no  it  means 
something  else,  which  must  the  sooner  be  seen  to.  And 
thanks  to  the  rascal's  boldness,  he  has  put  his  fate  in  my 
power  quicker  than  I   expected." 

"How — in  what  way?" 

"Why,  don't  you  see,  Bill?"  said  Sherwood,  turning  with 
a  familiar  and  coaxing  air  to  the  minion,  "don't  you  see 
how  easily  he  can  be  entrapped,  if  he  remains  at  Hendee's 
to-night,  or  repeats  his  visit?" 

"Ay,  but  how  would  you  manage  the  business?" 

"You  are  a  sergeant— take  a  file  of  men,  go  over,  sur- 
round the  house  and  take  him.  Your  superior  won't 
object." 

"But  how  am  I  to  know  when  he  is  to  be  found  there?" 

"I  will  go  over  myself,  reconnoitre  as  soon  as  dark, 
without  showing  myself  to  alarm  him,  and  if  I  find  the 
game  be  there,  I  will  make  a  torch  signal  at  the  landing. 
You  must  keep  watch,  and  as  soon  as  you  see  the  light, 
come  over  with  your  men.  If  he  is  not  there  to-night,  he 
will  be  soon;  Alma  Hendee  is  not  a  girl  to  be  once  seen 
and  draw  no  second  visit.  Yes,  by  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, I  have  him  at  last!  But  supposing  he  does  not  come 
into  this  trap,  he  certainly  is  prowling  somewhere  near; 
and  you  can  prowl,  too,  Bill.  And — at  the  last  pinch — you 
are  a  good  rifle  shot,  I  think,  Darrow?" 

"Ha!  ha!  out  at  last,  then!  I  thought  it  would  finally 
come  to  that.  Jake  Sherwood,  you  are  a  book  that  I  can 
read  by  looking  on  the  cover." 

"Then  you  know  what  I  would  have  you  do." 

"Yes,  but  where  would  be  the  reward  in  that  case?  The 
Yorkers  don't  pay  for  heads  that  have  been  bored,  do 
they?" 

"The  governor's  proclamation  don't  say  delivered  alive, 


96  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOT8. 

but  only  delivered.  But  whatever  question  there  luight 
be  about  that  in  some  cases,  there  shall  be  no  failure  in 
this.  I  have  influence  enough  at  headquarters  to  see 
that  your  bill  is  footed  if  you  bring  this  about,  in  any 
shape." 

"And  you  will  do  it?" 

"Upon  honor." 

"  Upon  interest,  you  mean.** 

"Upon  both,  if  you  please." 

" That  will  do,  and  for  this  d~ — n'd  good  reason— if 
the  security  is  weak,  I  know  of  that  which  can  easily  be 
made  to  enforce  the  bargain.  Jake  Sherwood,  I  am  your 
man." 

"  Now  that  looks  like  a  cheerful  good  will,  withe  ut  youi 
usual  drawback  of  grumbling.  Well,  we  understand  each 
other,  do  we?" 

"Hum!  a  d n'd  sight  too  well,  Jakel" 

u  Why,  we  part  friends,  don't  we  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  it  rests  with  you  whether  we  remain  so. 
But  I  must  be  back  to  the  .fort.  And  as  it  is  getting 
dusk,  you  go  directly  over,  I  suppose?" 

"Soon — but  you  understand  that  we  are  to  try  to  cage 
him  at  Hendee's  first.  Remember  to  look  out  for  the 
signal ! " 

"Ay,  ay." 

"  Yes,  my  suspicions  were  right  about  him  and  the  girl," 
soliloquized  the  plotting  agent,  after  the  departure  of  his 
reckless  minion.  "  But  never  mind,  I  have  put  the  blood- 
hound on  the  scent;  and  if  the  animal  don't  forget  his 
own  nature,  in  addition  to  putting  a  stop  to  this  business, 
1  shall  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  haughty 
leader  of  these  savage  rebels  atone  for  every  blow  which 
he  caused  to  be  inflicted  on  me  at  that  accursed  lake  I 
And  that  jeering  lieutenant  and  all  the  rest,  reward  or  no 
reward,  shall  have  their  turn  next.  And  then  their  exe- 
cutioner, if  1  can  contrive  to  make  the  hated  scoundrel 
such,  must  be  made  in  some  shape  to  follow  them.  Per- 
haps, however,  he  may  be  disposed  of  in  the  war  said  to 
be  brewing.  At  all  events,  he  is  too  dangerous  a  fellow 
to  my  interests  to  be  suffered  to  remain  here  long,  to  saj 
nothing  of  the  insults  which  I  am  compelled  to  bear,  ana 
seem  to  take  in  good  part,  from  his  devil's  tongue,    1 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8.  97 

wonder,  though,  what  made  him  undertake  this  danger- 
ous business  so  readily? — the  reward,  1  suppose; — well, 
let  him  have  it,  revenge  is  dearer  to  me  than  money.  But 
perhaps  I  can  contrive  to  get  both — if  1  could  but  man- 
age, after  securing  this  renegade  Captain  to  make  Darrow 
and  some  of  the  rest  mutual  executioners — ha !  that  would 
be  glorious!  But  of  that  hereafter,  now  for  the  first 
object." 

So  saying,  and  partially  arousing  himself  from  his  rev- 
erie, he  proceeded  along  the  shore  a  few  rods  to  a  point 
where  he  had  left  his  skiff,  and,  entering  it,  began  to  pull 
slowly  for  the  residence,  on  the  opposite  shore,  already 
described,  to  which  we  will  next  take  the  reader,  for  the 
purpose  of  introducing  some  new  characters,  and  making 
the  place  the  future  scene  of  a  large  portion  of  the  inci- 
dents to  follow. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

"  1  prythee,  daughter,  do  not  make  me  road* 

It  was  on  the  second  evening  after  the  incidents  re- 
lated in  the  two  preceding  chapters  occurred,  that  an 
elderly  gentleman  sat  at  the  door  of  the  pleasantly  situ- 
ated cottage  before  described,  cpuietly  indulging  in  the 
habit-made  luxury  of  puffing  the  Indian  weed,  as,  enjoy- 
ing the  bland  breezes  of  the  evening,  he  calmly  looked 
out  upon  the  broad  expanse  of  the  lake,  and  the  diversi- 
fied objects  of  the  landscape  around,  over  which  the 
shades  of  night  were  now  rapidly  gathering.  Now  his 
eyelids  would  droop  and  his  nead  sink,  slightly,  towards 
his  breast,  under  the  sedative  influence  of  the  narcotic 
fumes  he  was  imbibing,  aided  by  the  ceaseless  croakings 
of  the  frogs,  whose  evening  choruses  rose  from  the  marshy 
shores  of  the  lake  in  drowsy  monotony  on  the  ear.  And 
now  he  would  partially  arouse,  and  his  eye  would  light 
up,  for  an  instant,  with  returning  consciousness,  as  his 
ear  caught  the  new  note  of  some  bird  of  passage  just  re- 
turned from  his  hibernal  flight  to  the  warm  south,  and 
now  for  the  first  time  heard,  marking  the  progress  of  the 
season.  The  man  might  hare  been  sixty,  though  his 
7 


98  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

appearance  indicated  a  greater  number  of  years;  for  his 
head  was  nearly  white  with  the  frosts  that  the  fatigues 
and  privations  of  the  camp,  in  which  the  vigor  of  his 
manhood  had  been  spent,  had  prematurely  sprinkled  on 
his  head.  And  yet,  his  erect  figure,  and  keenly  flashing 
eye,  as  his  attention  became  aroused  to  objects  around 
him,  betokened  a  spirit  still  unbroken,  and  intellect  still 
unimpaired,  in  spite  of  a  shattered  constitution,  and  the 
ravages  which  hardships  and  time  had  depicted  on  his 
thin  and  war-worn  visage.  Though,  at  the  same  time, 
the  rapid  play  of  the  muscles  of  his  face,  and  the  com- 
bined expression  of  every  feature  of  his  countenance, 
evidently  denoted  that,  with  fine  sensibilities,  and  much 
that  was  generous  and  noble,  he  naturally  possessed  a 
sanguine  temperament  and  a  fiery  disposition,  which  his 
growing  infirmities  had  rendered  still  more  irascible. 
And  such  indeed  was  the  case  with  Captain  Hendee,  the 
person  whose  appearance  we  have  been  endeavoring  to 
describe.  His  life  had  been  pne  which  had  been  check- 
ered with  no  ordinary  vicissitudes.  He  had  been  an  offi- 
cer in  the  colonial  army,  and  out  in  most  of  that  fearful 
struggle  with  the  French  and  Indians,  that,  with  little  in- 
termission, spread  death  and  desolation  through  all  the 
borders  of  the  English  colonies  in  America  from  1744  to 
1760 ;  and  he  had  suffered  imprisonment,  sickness,  and  all 
but  death,  in  that  terrible  warfare.  He  had  also  known 
the  extremes  of  affluence  and  poverty  in  his  pecuniary 
affairs,  while  great  felicity,  and  uncommon  bereavements, 
had  marked  his  domestic  relations.  He  had  buried  two 
wives,  each,  while  she  was  spared  him,  the  charm  of  his 
existence.  And,  to  add  still  more  to  his  cup  of  sorrows, 
a  darling  son,  who  had  been  entrusted  to  the  care  of  an 
uncle  in  his  father's  absence,  soon  unaccountably  disap- 
peared, having  been  abducted  and  murdered,  it  was  sup- 
posed, by  some  lurking  band  of  Indians.  One  daughter, 
the  child  of  his  last  wife,  was  now  all  that  remained  to 
him  to  smooth  the  pillow  of  age,  and  prop  his  declin- 
ing years.  And  well  did  that  beloved  and  truly  lovely 
daughter  fulfil  the  filial  trust  thus  imposed.  Aware  of 
her  parent's  infirmities,  as  well  of  temper  as  of  body,  she 
became  the  gentle  soother  of  the  one,  and  the  watchful 
nurse  of  the  other.    And  ever  manifesting  the  most 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  99 

affectionate  solicitude  for  his  welfare,  and  always  assid- 
uously attentive  to  his  slightest  wants  and  wishes,  while 
readily  overlooking  the  harshness,  which,  in  his  tits  of 
petulance,  he  occasionally  showed  her,  and  which  she 
generally  answered  only  with  a  tear,  she  gained  over 
him,  by  this,  and  the  superadded  influence  of  his  affec- 
tion for  her,  and  the  sense  of  dependence  on  her  for  hap- 
piness, a  control  for  his  good,  that  the  whole  world 
anited  would  have  failed  in  attempting  to  obtain. 

A  discreet  and  demure  maiden  of  about  thirty,  an  old 
servant,  who  lived  with  them  in  more  prosperous  days, 
still  remained  with  them,  and  with  one  more  person, 
scarcely  less  regarded,  completed  all  the  permanent 
members  of  the  family.  That  other  person  was  no  other 
than  Neshobee,  the  young  Indian,  with  whom  the  reader 
has  already  had  a  partial  acquaintance,  without  having 
been  before  apprised,  however,  we  believe,  of  his  resi- 
dence. He  was  one  of  Captain  Hendee's  trophies  of  war, 
having  been  captured  in  an  onset  on  an  Indian  lodge,  to 
which  a  band  of  murderers  had  been  traced,  after  one  of 
their  massacres  on  the  frontier  settlement.  The  Indians 
being  taken  wholly  by  surprise,  and  nearly  all  slain  by 
the  first  fire,  this  lad  was  found  burrowed  unhurt  in  a 
pile  of  dry  leaves  in  one  of  their  haunts,  and  secured  by 
the  victors ;  when  the  Captain  declared,  with  a  sort  of 
melancholy  jest,  that  as  the  hell-hounds,  a  year  or  two 
before,  had  deprived  him  of  a  son  of  about  the  same  age, 
he  would  for  once  follow  their  custom  of  supplying  the 
ylace  of  the  slain  by  adopting  one  captured  from  the 
fliemy.  And  accordingly  he  took  the  boy,  then  six  or 
Sight  years  old,  back  with  him  to  his  post,  and  finally  to 
nisfanv-ly,  with  whom  the  captive  had  ever  since  resided. 

The  domicile  of  this  strikingly  contrasted  family  was 
a  common  cottage,  constructed  after  the  fashion  of  the 
better  sort  of  houses  in  the  settlement,  of  hewn  timber, 
so  exactly  squared  and  laid  together,  in  the  present  in- 
stance, as  to  make  smooth,  compact  walls,  neatly  white- 
washed without,  and  tightly  ceiled  with  boards  within. 
The  interior,  which  was  divided  into  two  principal  rooms, 
parlor  and  kitchen,  with  a  range  of  bedrooms  and  other 
small  apartments  abreast,  exhibited  an  odd  mingling  of 
ttoe  relics  of  refined  life,  with  the  crude  substitutes  for 


100  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 

furniture,  and  the  various  articles  usually  found  in  the 
houses  of  a  border  settlement.  On  the  high  mantel* 
piece  of  the  best  room  stood  the  wide  spreading  antlers 
of  some  noble  buck,  the  tips  of  the  various  branches  being 
ornamented,  with  curious  sea-shells,  the  egg-shells  of 
rare  birds,  and  other  devices  of  the  tasteful  young  mis- 
tress of  the  establishment.  Rich  mahogany  chairs  were 
cushioned  with  the  feathered  skins  of  the  loon,  a  large 
water-fowl  abounding  in  our  northern  lakes,  and  remark- 
able for  the  thickness  and  tenacity  of  its  skin,  as  well  as 
for  the  downy  softness  of  its  feathers.  A  light  stand,  of 
exquisite  workmanship,  was  supplied  with  a  curiously 
beaded  miniature  Indian  canoe  for  a  tray,  containing  a 
pair  of  small  clam-shells  for  snuffers.  On  wooden  pegs 
in  the  wall  were  suspended  the  remains  of  a  once  superb 
mirror,  the  broken  parts  of  which  were  artfully  concealed 
by  festoons  of  the  creeping  evergreens ;  while  on  one 
side  a  small,  but  well  selected  assortment  of  books,  ar- 
ranged on  broad  shelves,  completed  the  list  of  all  the 
prominent  articles  by  which  the  room  was  furnished. 
The  furniture  of  the  kitchen  was  mostly  of  the  roughest 
kind  and  the  whole  room  abounded  with  evidences  of 
the  woodsman's  life,  the  walls  and  ceiling  above  being 
hung  with  implements  of  hunting,  furs,  pieces  of  drying 
venison,  and  other  trophies  of  the  chase,  taken  by  Nesho- 
bee;  the  young  Esau,  or  red  Nimrod,  if  the  reader  please, 
of  the  family. 

"  Come,  father,"  said  Miss  Hendee,  with  a  look  of  af- 
fectionate solicitude,  as,  rolling  up  her  needlework,  she 
rose  from  her  seat  by  his  side :  "  had  you  not  better  take 
a  seat  within  ;  I  fear  you  are  exposing  yourself  too  much 
to  the  night  air  to  expect  quiet  from  your  rheumatic 
shoulders  to-morrow." 

"No,  Alma,"  replied  the  old  gentleman,  knocking  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe,  "  I  know  just  what  I  can  bear  ;  old 
Fahrenheit  himself  could  not  make  an  instrument  that 
would  indicate  the  state  of  the  air,  whether  hot  or  cold, 
dry  or  humid,  more  exactly  than  these  sensitive  fluids  in 
my  old  shattered  frame.  No,  the  atmosphere  is  pecul- 
iarly soft  and  warm  this  evening.  I  think  old  Boreas  has 
nearly  lost  his  claws  for  this  season.  I  just  heard  a 
whippoorwill,  or  muckawis.  as  the  Indians  call  it,  which 


THE  GHEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  101 

they  say  never  appears  here  in  the  spring  till  winter  haa 
got  so  far  towards  the  big  ice-pond  on  his  return  to  the 
north,  that  he  will  no  more  come  back." 

"  I  knew  it  was  very  mild  to-night,  father, but!  thought, 
perhaps,  you  were  not  aware  how  late  you  were  remain- 
ing in  the  open  air,  since  you  appeared  so  deeply  en- 
gaged in  cogitation." 

"True, girl,  I  have  been  thinking  over  matters  a  little." 

"What  matters,  father,  may  I  know?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  other,  now  rising  and  following  his 
daughter  into  the  room  we  first  described,  "yes,  Alma, 
you  shall  know,  for  you  are,  yourself,  one  of  the  parties 
concerned." 

"I,  father?" 

"  Yes,  you  are,  girl ;  but  in  the  first  place  let  me  ask 
you,  if  you  did  not  think  your  cousin  Sherwood's  manner, 
in  his  visit  last  night,  rather  singular?" 

"  I  might  have  thought  so,  perhaps — in  what  respect 
did  you  imagine  his  manner  was  singular,  however?" 

"  In  several — what  was  it  that  he  seemed  to  be  hinting 
about  so  mysteriously?  And  did  he  not  have  the  air  of 
one  who  is  secretly  suspicious  of  something  ! " 

"Does  my  father,"  replied  the  other,  evading  a  direct 
answer,  "does  my  father  think  that  anything  very  singu- 
lar in  Mr.  Sherwood?" 

"  Why — why  " — said  the  Captain,  surprised  and  stag- 
gered at  the  question:  "Why,  yes,  I  had  hoped  so;  for 
these  secretly  suspecting  characters  I  dislike,  Alma,  you 
know.     Confound  them,  yes,  I  detest  them  !" 

"And  I,"  rejoined  the  girl,  with  a  smile  in  which  the 
jocose  and  serious  were  significantly  blended,  "lam  too 
much  my  father's  daughter,  I  confess,  to  think  otherwise, 
myself." 

"Why!  what?  how?"  hastily  exclaimed  the  Captain, 
puzzled  and  uneasy  at  the  remark  of  the  other.  "  Why, 
what  on  earth  can  this  all  mean.  No  rupture  brewing 
between  you  and  Jake,  is  there?" 

"  Not  that  I  am  aware  of,  as  far  as  there  are  any  ties  to 
sever — or,  at  least,  none  that  I,  as  yet,  have  been  the  just 
cause  of,  though " 

"Though  what?"  sharply  demanded  the  father,  with 
increasing  irritation  :    "  Zounds !  you  don't  think  the 


102  ?"Z  Glii£EN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

fellow  is  trying  to  claw  off,  do  you  ?  Curse  the  hollow- 
hearted — humph,  what  was  I  going  to  say  ?  " 

"  Nothing  but  the  truth,  father,  I  presume,"  answered 
A.] ma,  looking  up  with  a  faint  smile,  and  a  sort  of  cool 
desperation  in  her  manner. 

'•  Yes,  I  was,"  quickly  rejoined  the  other,  hitching 
about  in  his  chair.  "  Blast  it!  girl,  whv  didn't  you  tell 
me  I  lied?" 

"  What,  tell  my  father  he  lied  !  "  said  the  girl,  roguishly  ; 
"  no,  no  !  that  would  have  been  the  worst  of  manners." 

•'Yes,  yes,"  pettishly  returned  the  Captain,  "but  why 
don't  you  stand  up  for  him  ?  I  don't  like  this  don't  care  a 
fig  sort  of  way  you  have  about  the  business.  Hang  me  if 
I  don't  believe  you  are  the  one,  after  all,  who  wishes  to 
be  off  ?  " 

"And  would  you  object  to  my  trying  to  get  the  start 
of  him  !  "  again  evasively  replied  the  girl,  "if  I  believed 
he  was  intending  to  desert  me  ?  " 

"  Why,  no," — answered  the  other,  "not  that  I  know  of: 
no,  that  would  be,  perhaps  a  decent  finesse,  if  that  was 
the  case,  but  it  is  not.  Then  what  is  all  this  bothering 
and  teasing  me  for?" — he  continued,  in  a  vexed  and  ex- 
postulating tone  ;  "  this  supposing  things  that  are  not  so  ? 
You  will  work  me  up  to  a  fever  :  make  me  mad,  March 
mad,  without  letting  me  know  which  of  you  to  be  mad  at. 
'Tis  provoking,  insufferable,  girl  \  Why  not  tell  me  in 
your  usual  direct,  off-hand  way,  it  once,  how  the  matter 
stands  between  you  and  Jake  ?' 

"  Father,"  said  Alma,  seriously,  "  I  most  certainly 
tvould  tell  von,  if  I  knew  myself." 

"  Well,  if  that  don't  cap  the  whole,  now!"  said  the 
Captain,  eyeing  his  daughter  with  an  incredulous  and 
somewhat  contemptuous  expression,  "  a  courted  girl  know 
nothing  of  her  own  courtship  !  your  caged  squirrel,  that 
hangs  in  the  kitchen,  yonder,  knows  nothing  of  nuts, 
does  he  ?  " 

"  Now,  father,  you  wrong  me,"  said  the  other,  a  little 
piqued  at  the  taunt,  and  now  perceiving  the  necessity  of 
being  more  explicit  on  a  subject  that  she  felt  reluctant  to 
discuss,  lest  she  should,  by  such  frankness  as  she  could 
wish  to  use,  displease  her  sensitive  parent.  "  Mr.  Sher- 
wood once  certainly  made  me  proposals ;  and  I,  knowing 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  103 

how  much  you  had  the  project  at  heart,  acquiesced,  or 
rather,  I  did  not  reject  him ;  since  that  time,  he  has  not 
often  reminded  me  of  the  subject.  His  own  affairs  he 
keeps  to  himself;  and  a  few  silly  compliments  on  his  part, 
completes  the  whole  story  of  what  you  call  our  courtship." 

"Beggarly  account!"  muttered  the  Captain,  with  an 
air  of  disappointment;  "beggarly  account,  as  the  fellow 
says  in  the  play  ;  cold  business  this,  for  a  love-affair,  or 
lam  no  judge,  Til  be  shot  if  I  am!  But,  zounds!"  he 
continued,  again  kindling  up,  "  why,  I  thought  it  was 
all  a  set  tied  business  !  And  it  was  settled — and  would  be 
now,  if  your  powers  of  winning  were  exerted  to  have  it 
so  !  What  will  become  of  us  the  Lord  only  knows,  if  this 
falls  through." 

"  Oh,  I  would  borrow  no  trouble  on  that  score,  sir," 
observed  Alma. 

"  But  I  shall  though " — rejoined  the  other.  "  The 
truth  is,  Alma,  we  are  poor — poor  as  Job  when  the  devil 
had  done  his  damnedest !  We  owe  Jake's  father — which, 
as  he  is  sole  heir,  is  the  same  as  Jake  himself, — for  nearly 
all  we  have.  If  my  little  Edward  could  have  been  spared 
me — but-  the  noble  boy  is  gone ;  and  that  family  have 
been  the  vortex  in  which  all  my  property  and  expecta- 
tions have  been  swallowed  up :  I  do  not  say  that  the 
property  went  wrongfully ;  but  it  went.  Even  before 
Jake  came  here,  I  had  thought  of  the  possibility  that 
you  might  become  the  channel  by  which  this  property 
would  be  diverted  back  again  into  my  family.  And  when 
he  made  proposals  to  you,  and  I  understood  you  accepted 
them,  I  confess  I  was  gratified.  It  gladdened  my  old 
desolate  and  despairing  heart  with  the  thought  that  it 
tvould  ensure  my  comfort  in  my  decrepit  and  helpless  old 
age,  while  it  would  give  you  the  home  and  wealth  which 
I  never  could  furnish  you ;  and  now  to  have  the  only 
bright  streak  I  have  seen  for  years  in  my  dark  future 
suddenly  blotted  out; — to  have  the  only  pleasant  cup  that 
has  been  presented  to  me  for  so  long,  thus  dashed  from 
my  very  lips! — And  by  whose  hand?"  he  added  with 
startling  fierceness,  as  trembling  with  rising  passion,  he 
shook  his  clenched  fist  before  the  face  of  his  unoffending 
daughter.  "  By  whose  hand,  1  say  ?  Girl,  girl,  if  I  really 
thought " 


104  THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  I  will  marry  him,  father,"  replied  the  girl,  bursting 
into  tears,  which  were  drawn  forth  more,  however,  by 
the  picture  he  had  drawn  of  his  hopes  and  sorrows,  than 
by  his  menaces ;  "  Oh,  I  will — I  will  marry  him,  for  your 
sake,  dear. father,  if  it  breaks  my  heart !  " 

"Hang  it!  no,  you  shan't!"  exclaimed  the  excitable 
old  man,  touched  to  the  quick  at  the  sight  of  his  daughter's 
tears,  and  his  whole  feelings  undergoing  a  revulsion  as 
sudden  as  rose  the  tempest  of  his  passion;  "no,  you 
shan't!  Brand  me  for  a  brute,  if  you  shall!  No— no- 
no,"  he  repeated  till  his  increasing  emotion  fairly  choked 
his  utterance,  and  he  could  articulate  no  more. 

The  tide  of  passion  having  risen  to  its  height,  was  now 
left  to  subside  in  the  pause  that  followed. 

"Let  us  now  dismiss  this  painful  subject  from  our 
thoughts,"  at  length  said  the  daughter,  the  first  to  recover 
her  composure,  "  and  do  not  let  the  matter  further  dis- 
turb your  feelings,  my  dear  and  generous-hearted  father: 
For  whatever  be  the  final  result :  rest  assured,  that  I  will 
never  marry  without  your  full  consent." 

"  Dutiful— noble  girl !  "  sobbed  the  old  man,  dashing 
away  a  tear ;  "  God  has  left  me  a  consolation  in  you,  my 
dear  daughter,  which  I  ought  to  be  thankful  for,  and 
which,  but  for  my  accursed  temper,  I  should  repay  with 
better  treatment." 

"Oh,  do  not  name  it,  father,  do  not  name  it,"  replied 
the  daughter  with  a  sweet  and  cheering  smile;  "if  we 
should  go  upon  faults,  I  may  have  scores  of  them,  any 
of  which,  perhaps,  would  outweigh  the  solitary  one  you 
tax  yourself  with." 

Miss  Hendee  had  never  before  ventured  so  far  in  mani- 
festing a  disposition  to  thwart  the  known  feelings  and 
wishes  of  her  irritable  father.  But  her  late  accidental 
Interview  with  Warrington,  whom  she  never  expected 
again  to  see,  had  forced  upon  her  mind  a  comparison  be- 
tween her  two  lovers,  which  made  her  more  painfully 
sensible  than  ever  how  much  she  must  sacrifice  in  becom- 
ing the  wife  of  Sherwood,  whose  true  character,  as  deeply 
veiled  as  he  had  endeavored  to  keep  it  with  this  family, 
she  had  in  some  measure  penetrated,  and  she  could  not 
forego  this  opportunity  of  letting  her  father  see  how 
heavy  upon  her  heart  hung  the  chain  that  she  was  wear- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  105 

Log  only  out  of  regard  to  his  happiness ;  and  yet  scarcely 
more  now  than  before,  did  she  meditate  on  throwing  off 
this  chain,  by  which  she  had  passively  suffered  herself 
to  be  bound.  But  determining  to  defer  any  consumma- 
tion, which  might,  for  the  pi  sent,  be  urged  upon  her, 
she  suffered  herself  only  to  hope  the  event  of  circum- 
stances  more  auspicious  for  reconciling  the  now  conflict. 
*ng  duties,  which  she  owed  herself,  and,  with  all  his 
faults,  her  still  loved  parent. 

After  the  conversation  just  detailed,  the  parties  soon 
repaired  to  the  kitchen,  where,  in  his  great  arm-chair  be- 
fore the  cheerful  fire,  the  Captain  was  accustomed  to 
spend  his  evenings,  sometimes  listening  to  the  silver- 
toned  voice  of  his  daughter,  as  she  sung  some  favorite 
song  or  read  some  favorite  author,  and  sometimes  re- 
counted the  thrilling  incidents  that  had  marked  his  ad- 
ventures while  battling  the  subtle  foe  of  the  wilderness. 
One  of  his  most  attentive  auditors,  when  engaged  in  the 
latter  employment,  was  Xeshobee,  with  whom  the  veteran 
also  often  amused  himself  in  conversation,  either  impart- 
ing information  to  the  native,  or  listening  to  the  shrewd 
and  original  remarks  made  by  the  latter  in  answer  to  the, 
various  questions  by  which  he  was  purposely  interrogated. 
Perceiving  now,  however,  that  the  place  of  this  almost 
necessary  adjunct  to  his  happiness  was  vacant,  the  Cap- 
tain immediately  inquired  of  Ruth,  the  servant-maid  be- 
fore mentioned,  if  she  knew  whither  the  Indian  had  gone, 

"  He  is  out  in  the  field,  Captain,"  replied  the  person 
addressed,  with  some  signs  of  uneasiness  in  her  looks, 
"and  I  wonder  what  strange  thing  he  sees  or  hears  to- 
night,  that  makes  him  act  so  oddly  ?  I  have  been  out  and 
called  to  him,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  me,  and  kept 
on  his  pranks,  sometimes  listening  with  his  ear  to  the 
ground,  and  then  dodging  or  crawling  from  one  stump 
to  another." 

"Aha!"  said  the  Captain,  with  a  look  of  interest; 
"  those  are  generally  pranks  that  mean  something  with 
an  Indian.  I  wonder  who  can  be  prowling  about  us 
now?" 

"  Mercy !  "  exclaimed  Ruth  in  alarm ;  "  if  it  should  be 
the  Green  Mountains  Boys  !  " 

"  The  worst  would  be  their  own,  I  think,"  coolly  ob- 


106  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

served  the  Captain ;  tt  that  is  if  they  come  to  show  us  sucii 
play  as  it  is  said  they  have  shown  some  on  Otter  Creek." 

"  What  would  you  do,  father,  in  case  they  should  come 
on  such  an  errand  ?"  asked  Alma,  with  an  air  of  mingled 
curiosity  and  concern. 

"  What  would  I  do,  child?  Why,  I  would  put  a  rifle 
bullet  through  the  first  one  who  should  attempt  to  enter, 
even  if  it  should  he  Warrington  himself.  Be  sure,  I  know 
but  little  of  this  cursed  dispute  about  titles.  They  may 
have  as  much  right  to  lands  that  they  have  bought,  and 
first  improved,  as  the  Yorkers,  for  aught  that  I  know ; 
and  I  was  never  for  hanging  them  for  fighting  in  such  a 
case.  But  here — why,  zounds  !  do  you  think  when  I  have 
got  the  first  possession,  and  done  so  much  upon  the  place, 
that  I  am  going  to  give  it  up  to  the  greedy  dogs  ?  No !  not 
if  their  great  devil  and  all  generalissimo,  Ethan  Allen, 
should  come  on  with  all  his  forces,  would  I  give  it  up 
without  a  fight  I  Hoo!  they  shall  have  my  heart's  blood 
first!" 

"I  trust  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  bloodshed  any- 
where, father,"  rejoined  the  daughter  quite  composedly; 
"I  have  reason  to — that  is,  I  do  not  believe  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  will  make  the  least  attempt  to  molest  us." 

"  Well — well,  girl,"  said  the  Captain,  scanning  the  other 
closely,  and  at  first  with  rather  a  puzzled  air,  which  soon, 
however,  gave  way  to  a  look  of  approbation ;  "I  must 
say  that  does  not  seem  much  like  borrowing  trouble,  as 
most  of  you  women  do  in  such  cases.  However,  I  have 
been  taught  by  the  Indians,  and  sometimes  have  paid  dear 
for  my  schooling  too,  that  this  borrowing  trouble  is  not 
always  so  bad  a  thing  after  all;  as  it  generally  keeps  us 
well  guarded  against  a  surprise.  But  here  comes  our 
scout;  so  let  us  hear  his  report.  Well,  Neshobee,  they 
say  you  are  scouting  to-night — what  is  in  the  wind  ?" 

"Me  hark  um,  but  no  tell  urn,"  replied  the  Indian, 
quietly  taking  his  place  by  the  fire. 

The  dog  in  the  yard  now  gave  one  of  those  faint,  in- 
decisive sort  of  yelps  usual  with  the  animal  when  doubt- 
ful whether  he  has  heard  something  that  should  require 
his  notice. 

"  Beagle  thinks  pretty  much  as  you  do,  Neshobee,"  said 
the  Captain,  comprehending  the  tone  of  the  dog :  "  but 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  107 

hark!"  he  added,  as  the  animal  barked  again,  and  in  a 
more  decided  manner  ;  "  I  can't  read  that  so  easily.  What 
do  you  make  of  it,  boy?" 

"  Beag  say  that  no  four-foot  coming,  Cappen,"  said  the 
native,  unconcernedly. 

"  Is  the  rifle  well  loaded,  Neshobee  ?"  asked  the  Captain, 
glancing  at  the  fire-arms  suspended  by  hooks  on  the  wall. 

"Yas!" 

"And  the  fowling-piece?" 

"Me  spose  um." 

"  Very  well,  down  with  them,  then !  Alma,  step  and 
bring  me  my  pistols !  and  in  the  meantime  we  will  bar 
the  door — Ruth,  lend  a  hand !  It  these  fellows,"  con- 
tinued the  Captain,  coolly  assisting  to  execute  the  several 
commands  he  had  so  rapidly  given  to  his  household — "  if 
these  fellows  had  any  honest  errand,  they  would  come  up 
to  the  house  at  once  like  men,  instead  of  skulking  around 
at  a  distance,  as  they  evidently  are.  We  may  as  well  be 
prepared  for  them." 

"Father,"  said  Alma,  returning  with  the  required  pis- 
tols, and  now  manifesting  the  most  lively  concern, 
"  Father,  I  do  beg  of  you  not  to  think  of  firing  on  any 
one  rashly — ascertain  what  they  want,  at  all  events. 
Your  apprehensions,  I  think,  are  wholly  groundless — 1 

cannot  think — indeed  I  am  very  sure " 

•  A  gentle  rap,  rap,  rap !  on  the  outside  of  the  door  caused 
the  speaker  suddenly  to  suspend.  All  now  stood  hushed 
in  silence,  till  the  rapping  was  repeated,  in  several  louder 
Mid  more  distinct  knocks. 


CHAPTER  X. 

"  But  who  was  he,  that  on  his  hunting  spear 
Lean'd  with  a  prouder  and  more  fiery  bearing? 
His  was  a  brow  for  tyrant  hearts  to  fear, 
Within  the  shadow  of  its  dark  locks  wearing 
That  which  they  may  not  tame — a  soul  declaring 
War  against  earth"s  oppressors." 

"  Hallo,  there ! "  called  out  Captain  Hendee,  in  no  very 
gentle  tones,  as  he  cocked  his  pistols,  and  threw  himself 
into  an  attitude  of  defence.    "  Hallo !  who  comes  ?  " 


108  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS^ 

"  No  enemy,  to  say  the  least,"  answered  the  voice  with- 
out. 

"  Let  him  in,  father,  do  let  him  in  ! "  said  Miss  Hendee 
in  a  low  beseeching  tone. 

"What,  without  giving  his  name!"  said  the  Captain. 
«  Why,  child,  I  don't  know  that  voice  from  Adam's ! 
No,  no,  friend  or  foe,  he  shall  undergo  that  ceremony." 

"Well,  father,  you  can  just  ask  him,  without  being  so 
rough,  can't  you?"  interposed  the  daughter,  in  an  ear- 
nest half  whisper,  quietly  placing  her  hand  on  the  arm 
ot  the  other. 

"  Friend,"  said  Captain  Hendee,  softening  down  at  the 
entreaties  of  his  daughter,  and  as  it  occurred  to  him  that 
the  tones  of  the  voice  he  had  just  heard  were  entirely  of 
a  pacific  character ;  "  friend,  will  you  favor  us  with  your 
name  ?  " 

"  Captain  Hendee,"  said  the  man,  seeming  to  hesitate 
about  complying,  "I  am  wholly  unattended,  your  dog 
here  seems  to  acknowledge  my  acquaintance,  and  if  you 
will  not  do  the  same,  when  I  am  admitted,"  he  added  in 
rather  a  jocose  tone,  "  I  will  agree  to  depart  as  peaceably 
as  I  came." 

"Humph!  me  know  that  man  talk!     Him  no  bad! 
said  the  Indian,  with  a  low  chuckle. 

The  Captain,  now,  evidently  a  little  chagrined  at  the 
suspicions  he  had  entertained,  and  the  parade  he  had 
made,  immediately  drew  out  the  bar,  and  opened  the 
door;  when  the  visitor  entered, but  quickly  paused,  after 
entering  the  threshold,  to  receive  the  scrutinizing  look 
of  the  other. 

"  What !  no — yes,  'tis !  "  exclaimed  Hendee,  between 
perplexity  and  surprise,  after  looking  a  few  seconds  into 
the  face  of  the  new-comer.  "  Well,  now,  by  the  great 
Jupiter  !  if  I  am  not  absolutely  ashamed  of  myself!  Mr. 
Howard  !  "  he  continued,  advancing,  and  cordially  shak- 
ing the  other  by  the  hand,  "  Mr.  Howard,  God  bless  you, 
sir,  how  do  you  do?  Apologies  by  the  dozen  are  yours? 
—or  should  be,  if  such  moonshine  concerns  were  ever 
worth  offering.  But  walk  in,  walk  in,  sir.  Here  are  my 
family— all  together  now— they  were  not  when  you  saw 
us,  I  think.  Alma,  you  are  acquainted  with— Miss  Ruth, 
this  is  Mr.  Howard.    And  here  is  another,  Neshobee,  we 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  109 

call  him,  a  native,  as  you  perceive,  but  for  all  that  an 
adopted  member  of  our  family." 

Miss  Ilendee,  though  much  embarrassed  at  this  meet, 
ing,  in  spite  of  all  her  attempts  to  appear  composed, 
managed  nevertheless,  to  exchange  the  customary  saluta- 
tions in  such  a  manner  as  to  conceal  her  embarrassment 
from  all  except  her  lover  ;  between  whom  and  herself  it 
seemed  to  be  tacitly  understood  that  they  should  meet 
each  other  as  for  the  first  time,  without  making  the 
slightest  allusion  to  their  late  interview.  There  was 
another  of  the  family  group,  also,  that  came  in  for  his 
share  of  surprise,  at  least,  at  some  of  the  circumstances 
attending  this  meeting.  And  that  was  the  Indian.  Not 
expecting  to  see  Warrington  here  till  he  heard  his  voice 
at  the  door,  and  never  dreaming  till  this  moment,  but 
that  the  latter  and  his  master's  family  were  entire  stran- 
gers, the  poor  fellow,  when  he  saw  them  meet  as  old 
acquaintances,  and,  above  all,  when  he  heard  Captain 
Hendee  address  the  other  by  the  name  of  Howard,  looked 
perfectly  confounded,  and  expressed  as  much  unfeigned 
astonishment  as  an  Indian  countenance,  perhaps,  ever 
exhibited.  The  instinctive  prudence  of  his  race,  however, 
prevented  him  from  betraying,  by  words,  his  surprise  and 
perplexity,  or  exposing  Warrington  in  the  disguise  which 
he  supposed  was  for  some  good  reasons  assumed. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Howard,"  resumed  the  Captain,  after  the 
usual  salutations  were  over,  "I  am  right  happy  to  renew 
my  acquaintance  with  you,  and  have  the  opportunity  to 
express  personally,  my  obligations  to  you  for  your  many 
kindnesses  to  us  at  the  time  of  my  accident  on  the  road. 
You  probably  thought  our  departure  rather  abrupt  on 
/our  return.  But  you  received  my  note,  did  you  not  ?  " 
"  No,  sir,  neither  note  nor  message." 
"  What  I  then  that  old  heedless  poodle  of  a  landlady 
forgot  it,  or  more  probably  lost  it,  and  to  mend  the  mat- 
ter, thought  she  would  conceal  from  you  that  I  gave  her 
one.  Well,  well,  you  must  have  thought  us  rather  singu- 
lar beings,  as  well  for  that  as  for  some  other  things  you 
perhaps  noticed  in  us.  For  I  remember,  we  kept  you 
pretty  much  in  the  dark  about  our  affairs.  The  fact  was, 
Mr.  Howard,  and  I  care  not  now  who  knows  it,  that  I 
was  then  under  the  apprehensiou  of  being  pursued  and 


110  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

taken  back  by  creditors,  before  I  could  reach  my  eonnec- 
tions  in  Albany,  where  I  expected  to  obtain  the  means  of 
satisfying  them,  as  I  did  before  making  this  purchase." 

"  You  did  not  return  then  ?  " 

"No!  When  I  arrived  there,  finding  that  sales  were 
making  in.  these  lands,  1  concluded  on  a  life  in  the  woods 
— made  a  purchase — came  on  here  the  first  season  with 
hired  men,  and  then  sent  for  Alma  from  Albany,  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  and  goods  from  Connecticut." 

"  And  what  directed  you  particularly  to  this  location  ?" 

"  My  own  knowledge  of  the  country,  obtained  in  the 
wars  when  I  was  campaigning  with  Put  and  Rogers  along 
the  borders  of  this  then  bloody  lake.  I  remember  this 
spot  well.  A  pitch  had  been  made  here  by  some  French- 
men, who  cleared  up  several  acres,  lived  here  a  few  years, 
and  then  deserted  the  place.  This  was  the  first  opening 
made  this  side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  all  the  rest  of  the 
country  being,  at  the  time  I  fb'st  saw  the  spot,  one  broad, 
unbroken  wilderness.  Many  a  weary  march,  and  many 
a  cold,  wet  bed  have  1  had  on  these  dark  and  tangled 
shores.  I  have  often  wondered  how  we  could  have  out- 
lived such  hardships.  With  the  constitution  and  spirits 
I  then  possessed,  however,  I  had  but  little  dread  of  the 
woods,  or  the  red  imps  that  infested  them.  But  my  days 
of  fighting  are  now  over,  Mr.  Howard." 

"  Some,  in  my  situation,  with  these  evidences  around, 
might  feel  disposed  to  doubt  that,  Captain,"  smilingly 
observed  Warrington,  motioning  to  the  fire-arms,  which 
had  not  been  yet  replaced. 

"Ah,  you  have  me  there,"  gayly  responded  the  other-, 
"but  honestly,  we  were  expecting  visits  of  a  different 
character.  If  those  rough  dealing  devils,  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  had  beset  us,  instead  of  our  peaceable 
old  friend,  Dr.  Hunter,  there  is  no  telling  but  even  so 
broken  down  an  old  Trojan  as  I  am  might  have  shown 
some  fight  on  the  occasion." 

"Perhaps,  sir,"  replied  the  guest  in  the  same  spirit*, 
"  I  should  tender  my  condolence  at  your  disappointment 
in  not  being  allowed  the  chance  to  exercise  your  old 
Vocation." 

"  Not  a  whit,  not  a  whit,  sir.  For  I  should  extremely 
tegret  to  be  forced  into  a  quarrel  with  my  country  mea 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  Ill 

In  defence  of  what  I  consider  my  rightful  possessions. 
And  1  hope  it  may  never  be  the  case.  But  we  have  had 
some  reason  to  believe  otherwise  within  a  day  or  two  past. 
A  friend  apprised  me,  that  a  band  of  these  fellows  was 
abroad,  and  probably  on  their  way  to  this  part  of  the  lake 
shore;  and  our  two  scouts  here,  Neshobee  and  Beagle, 
having  successively  made  their  reports  in  their  respective 
fashions,  to-night,  that  there  were  skulkers  in  the  bush 
I,  for  one,  began  really  to  expect  that  we  had  got  to  do 
battle  for  our  home.  Alma  here,  however,  1  am  half 
ashamed  to  own,  was  less  apprehensive,  and  bore  herself 
more  coolly  than  any  of  the  garrison,  not  excepting  the 
old  soldier  of  forty  battles  at  their  head!  Hang  me!  if 
I  don't  believe  the  girl,  like  old  Falstaff,  knew  by  instinct 
who  was  coming!  Come,  child,  now  be  honest,  was  it 
not  so  ?  " 

But  Alma,  whose  head  suddenly  dropped  at  the  remark, 
and  whose  fair  cheek  glowed  like  the  lire  before  which 
she  was  sitting,  was  quite  too  busy  with  her  pretty 
fingers  in  tumbling  over  the  contents  of  her  work-basket 
for  a  thimble,  or  some  other  article,  that  became  just  at 
that  moment  unaccountably  missing,  to  heed  the  question, 
or  think  of  answering  it.  Even  Warrington  appeared  to 
be  a  little  discomposed  at  this  close,  though  random  shot 
of  the  old  Captain ;  but  he  did  not  forget  to  throw  a 
glance  of  gratitude  towards  his  fair  friend  for  the  confi- 
dence, which  the  Captain's  statement  seemed  to  imply  that 
she  had  placed  in  his  assurances  at  their  late  interview. 

Captain  Hendee,  without  seeming  to  notice  the  sensa- 
tion which  his  last  remarks,  intended  only  for  a  passing 
joke,  produced  on  some  of  his  auditors,  at  length  resumed : 

"  You  wandered  round  the  borders  of  the  woods  some 
time  before  you  found  us,  I  conclude,  sir,  from  the  noises 
that  Neshobee  heard  previous  to  your  arrival?" 

"Oh,  no,  sir,  I  came  direct,  and  without  stopping." 

"  I  don't  see,  then,  but  we  have  as  much  reason  now, 
as  before,  to  expect  a  visit  from  the  enemy  to-night," 
musingly  observed  the  Captain. 

"Me  guess  um  what  1  hear  no  Mountain  Boys,"  said 
Neshobee,  looking  significantly  at  Warrington,  as  if  he 
considered  the  latter  to  have  the  most  interest  in  the 
information  thus  imparted. 


112  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Neither  the  remark  of  the  Indian,  nor  the  meaning 
look  that  accompanied  it,  was  lost  on  Warrington,  as  was 
evident  from  the  expression  of  uneasiness  that,  for  an 
instant,  hecame  visible  on  his  countenance  ;  but  he  re- 
mained silent. 

"Which  way  did  you  come,  Mr.  Howard?"  resumed 
the  Captain  ;  "  I  believe  you  have  not  told  us,  nor,  indeed, 
how  you  became  apprised  of  our  present  residence?" 

Warrington,  catching  a  forbidding  glance  from  Miss 
Hendee,  was  hesitating,  on  her  account  as  well  as  his  own, 
what  answer  he  should  frame  to  the  embarrassing  ques- 
tion, tvhen  he  was  suddenly  relieved  from  his  dilemmn, 
by  a  bold,  heavy  rap  at  the  door. 

Captain  Hendee,  feeling  more  assured  this  time  from 
the  reinforcement  received  in  his  friend  Howard,  who,  as 
usual,  had  his  rifle  with  him,  immediately  rose,  and,  with 
but  a  slight  hesitation,  opened  the  door ;  when  he  sud- 
denly paused,  and  stood  a  moment  gazing  in  mute  sur- 
prise at  the  figure  before  him.  Soon  recovering,  however, 
he,  in  a  sort  of  hesitating  and  doubtful  tone,  invited  the 
man  to  enter. 

Acknowledging  the  proffered  courtesy  with  a  stately 
bow,  the  stranger  advanced,  with  a  bold,  free  step  and  a 
fearless  air,  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  where  he  paused, 
and  bowed  slightly  to  each  of  the  assembled  group,  most 
of  whom,  however,  were  too  much  surprised  and  over- 
awed at  the  singular  and  formidable  appearance  of  the 
man  to  return  his  salutations.  And,  indeed,  his  appear- 
ance was  of  so  unique  and  striking  a  character  as  well  to 
warrant  the  sensation  which  his  presence  seemed  to  pro- 
duce. Of  an  uncommon  height,  and  with  an  extraordinary 
breadth  of  chest,  supplied  with  large  brawny  limbs,  his 
whole  frame  constituted  a  figure  of  the  most  Herculean 
cast;  while  his  large,  darkly  bright  eyes,  and  the  air  of 
intelligence  that  marked  the  general  expression  of  his 
coarse,  lion-like  features,  gave  evidence  that  his  intellect- 
ual powers  were  not,  as  frequently  occurs  in  such  in- 
stances, wholly  incommensurate  with  his  physical  pro- 
portions. A  modern  phrenologist,  indeed,  while  compar- 
ing his  high  and  remarkably  expansive  forehead,  with  the 
vast  volume  which  composed  the  back  part  of  his  head, 
might  be  much  puzzled  to  decide  whether  his  intellectual 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  113 

or  animal  nature  would  most  predominate  in  his  charac- 
ter. His  dress,  which  was  likewise  somewhat  singular 
for  the  times,  consisted  of  high,  heavy  boots,  buff  breeches 
and  doublet,  with  a  high-collared,  white  shag  coat  of  the 
frock  kind,  all  of  which  was  surmounted  by  a  fine,  though 
much  worn  beaver,  slouched,  except  the  front  part,  which 
was  turned  up  so  as  to  give  an  additional  boldness  to  his 
large  features,  and  to  impart  somewhat  of  a  bandit  aspect 
to  his  appearance.  This,  to  ordinary  observation,  com- 
pleted his  outward  equipment ;  though  a  closer  inspection 
might  have  revealed  the  shape  of  a  stout  pistol  swelling 
the  smooth  and  snugly  setting  leather  over  each  of  his 
breeches  pockets,  while  the  buck-horn  handle  of  a  large 
war-knife  might  occasionally  be  seen  protruding  from  its 
«heath  attached  to  the  side  lining  of  his  coak 

Placing  the  heavy  rifle  which  he  bore  in  his  hand  in  a 
corner,  the  stranger  now  advanced,  and,  with  an  air  of 
easy  unconcern,  seated  himself  by  the  side  of  his  host,  in 
\he  family  circle  round  the  fire. 

"  My  name  is  Hendee,"  at  length  said  the  Captain,  evi- 
dently not  wholly  at  ease  in  the  presence  of  his  bold  and 
fearful-looking  visitor,  "  my  name  is  Hendee,  and  being 
Lo  great  stickler  for  ceremony,  I  hope  I  sh^l  be  excused, 
sir,  in  saying  that  it  always  affords  me  pleasure  to  know 
by  what  name  I  may  address  my  guests." 

"That's  right!"  bluntly  commenced  the  stranger  i» 
reply,  "and  you  got  at  it  ingeniously  too,  by  George  I n 

"  I  meant  no  offence,  sir." 

«  O,  no,  but  let  me  see— it  is  now  May,  is  it  nofc?** 

m  Yes  sir." 

«  Well,  then,  for  the  month  of  May,  my  name  is  Smith.* 

«*  Sir?— did  I  rightly  understand  you,  sir?" 

"  I  presume  so — I  said  Smith,  because  there  are  more 
of  that  name  than  any  other." 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  what  follows  from  that?" 

«  Why,  of  course,  sir,  that  you  stand  a  better  chance 
to  get  my  right  name ;  men  will  lie  like  the  devil,  some- 
times, you  know ! " 

«  Really,  sir?"  said  the  Captain,  his  eyes  beginning  to 
snoot  fire  at  this  apparently  intended  insult,  "  really,  sir, 
I  cannot  understand  your  drift,  if  you  do  not  mean  tu 
o$er  us  an  affront" 
8 


114  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha ! "  roared  the  stranger,  in  a  voice  that 
shook  the  house,  "well,  now,  if  that  ain't  a  good  one! 
ha!  ha!  ha!  Why,  no,  friend,"  he  continued,  familiarly 
turning  towards  the  other,  and  giving  him  a  rough  slap 
on  the  shoulder,  "no,  no,  friend  ;  but  you  just  said  you 
was  not  a  great  stickler  for  ceremony — nor  ain't  I,  as  you 
see.     So  let  us  be  honest,  and  live  up  to  our  professions." 

"Agreed  to  that.  And  yet — "  rejoined  the  Captain, 
perfectly  at  a  loss  what  to  make  of  his  strange  guest,  and 
though  still  vexed,  yet  now  half  ashamed  of  the  feeling 
he  had  shown — "  and  yet,  sir,  I  have  met,  in  the  course 
of  my  life,  but  with  few  honest  men  who  were  afraid  to 
tell  their  names." 

"  Why,  the  truth  is,"  replied  the  other,  with  an  air  ot 
much  seriousness,  "  that  you  are  all  such  quarrelsome 
curses,  clown  here  in  the  Grants,  that  a  stranger,  like  my- 
self, can't  safely  travel  among  you  by  any  other  name 
than  Smith,  if  he  had  one.  As  to  myself,  I  don't  exactly 
know,  in  the  strictly  legal  sense  of  the  thing,  that  I  have 
any  name — to  speak  of,  excep't  Smith  ;  for  I  still  stick  to 
Smith,  mind  ye — that  is,  for  the  month  of  May." 

"  Well,  well,  have  it  as  you  will,  man,"  observed  Hen. 
dee,  now  softening  down,  and  beginning  to  be  amused  in 
spite  of  himself  at  the  blunt  drollery  of  the  other.  "  But 
I  must  say  you  are  the  greatest  .oddity  I  have  met  with 
for  many  a  day." 

"That  may  be,  friend,"  said  the  stranger,  his  counte- 
nance assuming  the  cast  of  sincerity  ;  "  but  as  you,  like  a 
wise  man,  have  concluded  not  to  be  offended  at  nonsense* 
let  us  talk  sense  a  little :  Captain  Hendee,  a  man  of  your 
intelligence  and  observation  cannot  but  have  long  since 
noticed  the  quarrel  that  has  been  brewing  between  us 
Colonists,  and  the  mother  country  ?" 

"  I  have,  sir  ;  and  with  the  most  painful  regret,"  was 
the  guarded  reply. 

"  And  those  Bostonians  and  Virginians,  who  have  taken 
the  lead  in  the  resistance  to  the  King's  authority,"  re- 
sumed the  stranger,  again  assuming  an  equivocal  look, 
and  fixing  his  eyes  keenly  on  the  countenance  of  the  other, 
"those  fellows  are  a  set  of  Christless  knaves,  for  their 
rebellion,  you  agree?** 

"  Knaves !    How  so,  sir  ?  "  replied  the  Captain,  hastily 


TEE  GREEN  itOtrtTTAlN  BOYS.  115 

ana  with  a  look  that  hetrayed  more  of  his  feelings  than 
he  intended  should  have  been  revealed  to  a  stranger,  and 
especially  to  one  who  apparently  entertained  sentiments 
on  this  subject  so  different  from  those  which  he  had  long 
privately  cherished. 

"Aha!"  eagerly  exclaimed  the  stranger,  with  evident 
delight,  "  sits  the  wind  in  that  quarter,  really  and  truly  ? 
Well,  I  am  not  disappointed  in  you,  after  all,  thank 
God!" 

"Yes,  but  you,  sir?" — said  the  Captain,  again  con- 
founded at  the  seemingly  contradictory  language  and  man- 
ner of  the  other,  "  what  did  you  say  but  a  moment  since  ?" 
"  What  did  I  say  ?  O,  pooh !  that  is  nothing  1 "  replied 
the  stranger.  *'  But  again,  and  seriously,  Captain  Hendee 
(for  I  am  now  satisfied  that  it  will  do  to  ask  you  the  ques- 
tion), should  matters  proceed  to  open  hostilities  in  an 
attempt  to  burst  these  accursed  fetters,  how  far  could  your 
countenance  and  support  be  depended  on?" 

"  Stranger,"    said  Captain  Hendee,   looking  the  other 
lull  in  the  face,  "as  singular  a  man  as  you  appear,  you 
nevertheless  have  an  honest  countenance,  and  would  no*| 
J  think,  try,  in  my  own  house,  to  lead  me  into  a  snare, 
But  granting  that  your  sentiments  and  mine,  coincide  on 
this  subject,  what  could  you  ask,  or  expect,  from  an  Infirm 
old   man,  whose  only  home  and  property  lie  under  the 
very  mouths  of  the  guns  of  Fort  Frederick  ?  "  * 

'  1  see,  I  see  !  "  answered  the  stranger.  "  But  it  may 
oe  worth  much  to  us  to  know  that  your  heart  is  in  tha 
right  spot.  For  the  times  are  coming  when  even  what 
such  as  you  can  do  may  be  of  incalculable  importance  to , 
the  cause.  Indeed,  sir,"  he  continued  with  increasing  ear- 
nestness,  and  with  deep  and  startling  emphasis,  "  indeed, 
sir,  those  times  are  already  at  the  door:  Jblood — Ameri- 
can blood  has  been  shed  / " 

"  Where  ?  where  ?  "  simultaneously  burst  from  the  lips 
of  Hendee  and  Warrington. 

"  At  Lexington,"  resumed  the  stranger  with  clenched 
list  and  eye  of  fire.  "  Fifty  American  citizens  have  been 
shot  dowu  like  wild  cattle  by  a  foreign  soldiery !  and  their 

*  The  fort  at  Crown  Foi~t  was  in  the  old  French  wars  denorn* 
tuated  Fort  Frederick. 


116  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

blood  has  gone  up  to  the  great  God  in  cries  of  vengeance  t 
All  Massachusetts  are  in  arms  !  And  are  we  here  of  the 
Green  Mountains  to  remain  idle  ?  "  he  added,  with  a  look 
and  a  tone  of  almost  frightful  energy ;  "  by  all  the  thrones 
tff  heaven  and  hell,  no,  no!" 

"Oh,  for  the  renovation  of  one  year  of  my  manhood's 
tfigor!"  exclaimed  the  Captain,  springing  from  his  chair, 
and  hastily  striding  round  the  room. 

"  All  that  is  well  enough,  but  useless,  my  friend,"  ob= 
served  the  stranger,  after  a  silence  among  the  company  of 
a  few  moments,  in  which  he  seemed  to  have  brought  his 
feelings  back  to  their  usual  current ;  "  so  instead  of  call, 
ing  on  Hercules,  like  the  man  of  the  fable,  in  prayers  that 
never  can  be  answered,  be  thinking  what  you  can  do. 
This  Indian," — he  continued,  in  an  undertone,  approach- 
ing close  to  the  Captain — "he  is  domesticated  in  your 
family?" 

"  Yes,  brought  up  by  us,  mostly  ;  a  cunning,  prudent 
and  faithful  fellow,"  replied  the  Captain,  in  a  voice  too 
low  to  be  heard,  as  he  suppo'sed,  by  the  rest  of  the  com- 
pany. 

"And  may  be  made  a  useful  friend  for  some  emergen- 
cies, with  your  permission,  Captain  ?  " 

"  You  have  it,  that  is  for  an  occasional  runner,  scout, 
or  the  like — I  should  not  like  to  part  with  him  for  any 
great  length  of  time,  however." 

"  Here,  my  friend,"  said  the  stranger,  approaching  the 
native,  and  presenting  him  with  a  valuable  pocket  knite, 
"  will  you  take  this  as  a  gift  to  remember  me  by  ?  Now 
look  me  in  the  face." 

«  Yas — umph  !  Ah,  him  good — one  very  good!  "  said 
the  Indian,  quickly  pocketing  the  knife. 

"  Now,  Captain,"  said  the  stranger,  putting  on  his  hat, 
and  giving  other  indications  of  his  intention  to  depart, 
"I  have  only  to  say,  that  I  am  sorry  I  could  not  have 
been  more  frank  with  you  in  some  particulars ;  but  cir- 
cumstances forbade  it.  Now  I  must  be  off;  and  I  have 
some  notion,"  he  continued,  looking  at  Warrington,  "of 
inviting  your  guest  here  to  accompany  me  as  a  guide." 

«  Mr.  Howard  is  an  old  acquaintance,  sir,  just  called 
after  a  long  separation,"  said  the  Captain,  "  We  should 
be  sorry  to  part  with  him  -so  soon." 


TUE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  117 

"Mr.  Howard  will  remain  through  the  night  with  us, 
surely?"  interposed  the  musical  voice  of  3Iiss  Hendee. 

The  stranger  gave  a  scrutinizing  look  at  the  father  aijd 
daughter,  and  ended  hy  exchanging  with  Warrington 
looks  of  intelligence,  which  very  clearly  showed  that  tli8 
two  were  hy  no  means  strangers  to  each  other.  Seem- 
ing to  satisfy  himself,  he  was  about  to  remark  further, 
when  the  tramp  of  men,  now  heard  approaching  the  door, 
arrested  the  attention  of  the  company.  The  rattling  of 
guns  announced  them  to  be  armed  men,  among  whose 
voices  the  quick  ears  of  Miss  Ilendee  recognized  that  of 
Darrow.  Instantly  rising,  she  hastily  invited  Warring- 
ton to  take  a  seat  in  the  other  room ;  and  the  latter  com- 
plying, the  lovers  disappeared  through  one  door,  just  as 
the  new-comers  entered  another. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

"Ha  J  here  comes  those  ^e  counted  not  on  meeting." 

The  company  whose  arrival  was  announced  at  the  close 
of  the  last  chapter,  proved  to  be  a  small  detachment  of 
soldiers  from  the  opposite  Fort.  They  were  seven  or 
eight  in  number,  under  the  command  of  their  sergeant, 
Darrow,  who,  with  three  others,  after  knocking,  though 
scarcely  waiting  for  a  bidding,  unceremoniously  entered 
the  kitchen,  the  remainder  of  the  force  having  been 
posted  at  the  doors  and  windows  without,  to  prevent  all 
escape  from  the  house.  As  an  ostensible  reason  for  call- 
ing at  this  time,  Darrow  carelessly  observed,  that  being 
out  in  pursuit  of  a  deserter,  a  part  of  their  company  had 
gone  up  the  lake  with  their  boat,  thus  depriving  them  of 
the  means  of  recrossing,  and  leaving  them  no  other  resort 
but  to  crave  a  shelter  of  Captain  Ilendee  for  the  night, 
or,  at  least,  till  their  boat  returned.  Calls  of  this  kind 
by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  garrison  being  of  no 
very  unfrequent  occurrence  at  the  house,  the  present 
visit,  therefore,  occasioned  the  Captain  little  or  no  sur- 
prise, and  being  of  a  hospitable  turn,  and  fond,  as  might 
be  supposed,  of  having  those  for  company  who  belonged 


US        TEE  GREEN  MOUNT  Am  BOTb. 

to  a  profession  in  which  a  great  portion  of  his  own  lift 
had  been  spent*  he  appeared  to  feel  quite  at  ease  with 
his  new  guests.  Not  so,  however,  with  all  the  company 
assembled.  The  meeting  between  the  soldiers,  and  the 
stout  stranger  before  described,  seemed  to  be  mutually 
unexpected,  and  evidently  but  little  relished  by  the  latter. 
For,  though  they  were  all  personally  unknown  to  him, 
yet  he  was  aware  that  he  might  not  be  so  to  them ;  and, 
should  the  last  supposition  be  true,  as,  from  certain  sly 
looks  which  he  saw  exchanged  between  the  soldiers,  he 
thought  highly  probable,  he  was  sensible  that  he  had  a 
part  to  play  for  himself  and  Warrington,  of  whose  co- 
operation he  felt  assurec,  that  would  require  all  his  tact, 
and  perhaps  pub  to  the  severest  test  the  powers  of  both 
to  extricate  them  from  the  threatened  difficulty. 

Nor  were  the  stranger's  suspicions  by  any  means 
groundless.  Darrow  had  before  seen  the  man,  and  at  once 
recognized  hira  as  one,  who,  if  taken,  would  prove  a  far 
greater  prize  than  the  person  whose  seizure  constituted 
the  particular  object  of  the  present  visit :  but  one,  at  Che 
same  time,  well  known  to  be  the  most  formidable,  and 
difficult  of  capture,  of  all  the  Green  Mountain  outlaws. 

"That  ain't  the  fellow  we  came  for,"  whispered  Darrow 
to  the  soldier  nearest  him,  the  first  opportunity  that  oc- 
cured  for  so  doing,  unobserved.  "  He  must  be  with  the 
girl  in  the  other  room,  I  think.  But  this  big  chap  is  one 
of  the  same  kidney,  only  worth  two  of  him,  if  taken; 
secure  him,  as  well  as  the  other,  and  your  pay  shall  be 
doubled.  So  keep  your  eyes  on  him  for  the  present,  and 
we  will  wait  till  they  go  to  bed,  and  get  to  sleep :  for  the 
other  is  no  baby  for  a  tussle;  and  this  one,"  he  continued, 
with  a  significant  look,  as  be  cast  a  fearful  glance  at  the 
giant-like  person  of  the  stranger;  "and  this  one,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  ugly  instruments  they  say  he  carries 
tinder  his  clothes,  he  is— he's  the  devil  anil  all— he's 
thunder ! " 

This  information,  with  the  orders  accompanying  it,  be- 
ing soon  passed  around  to  all  the  band,  every  movement 
of  the  stranger  was  regarded  with  the  most  suspicious 
vigilance.  But  he,  contrary  to  their  expectation,  made 
not  the  slightest  movement  which  indicated  that  he  was 
meditating  any  attempt  to  escape.    On  the  contrary,  the 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  119 

more  he  was  watched,  the  more  unconscious  did  he  seem, 
that  he  was  an  object  of  suspicion  or  vigilance  with  any 
of  the  company;  and  with  the  utmost  unconcern,  he  soon 
began  to  mingle  in  the  conversation,  commencing  with 
Miose  blunt  cordial  kind  of  advances  to  Darrow,  and  as 
many  of  his  men  as  he  could  find  excuse  for  addressing 
individually,  which  are  generally  the  surest,  if  not  the 
only  road  to  the  soldier's  heart.  Nor  was  it  long  before 
he  had  succeeded  in  putting  himself  on  a  familiar  footing 
with  the  whole  band,  whose  feelings  and  senses,  in  spite 
of  the  distant  restraint,  and  guarded  watchfulness  they 
had  imposed  on  themselves,  were  fairly  captivated  by  his 
bold  sallies  of  wit,  and  the  irresistible  drollery  of  his  man- 
ner. Captain  Hendee,  with  his  war  stories,  was  com- 
pletely thrown  into  the  shade  by  the  extraordinary 
convivial  powers  of  the  stranger  who,  having  now  fairly 
become  the  hero  of  the  company,  continued  to  pour  forth, 
from  his  seemingly  inexhaustible  resources,  sally  upon 
sally,  with  increasing  brilliancy,  and  anecdote  upon  anec- 
dote, each  of  which  was  more  ludicrous  or  striking  than 
the  preceding  one,  till  the  whole  party  became  convulsed 
with  merriment,  and  the  house  shook  with  the  din  of 
laughter.  And  now  satisfied  with  the  success  that  had 
so  well  crowned  his  efforts  in  this  respect,  he  called  on 
Captain  Hendee  to  bring  on  glasses,  and  a  gallon  of  spirits 
at  his  expense,  declaring  that,  "  of  all  God's  cattle,  he  pre- 
ferred soldiers  for  companions.  It  was  not  every  day 
that  a  hunter,  whose  next-door  neighbors  and  common 
acquaintances  were  bears  and  wolves,  and  whose  sweet- 
hearts and  select  friends  were  wolverines  and  catamounts, 
had  the  rare  luck  to  fall  into  such  glorious  company.  He 
could  well  afford  to  treat  and  he  should  hold  it  a  privi- 
lege to  have  a  bout  with  his  military  friends,  helping 
them,  while  he  could  to  drink  health  to  the  King,  confu- 
sion to  all  enemies,  and  shame  to  the  devil." 

Leaving  this  bold,  sagacious,  and  singularly  gifted 
outlaw  and  his  companions  to  the  merriment  he  had  in- 
fused into  them,  and  the  boisterous  and  drunken  revelry 
that  followed,  we  will  now  repair  to  the  other  room, 
where  a  far  different,  though  no  less  interesting  scene 
was  in  progress. 

When  Miss  Hendee,  on  recognizing  the  voice  of  Darrow, 


120  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

among  those  of  others  about  to  enter  the  house,  so 
abruptly  invited  Warrington  to  take  a  seat  with  her  ?'n 
the  other  room,  she  did  so  from  a  sudden  impulse,  aris- 
ing out  of  her  secret  dread  of  encountering  one,  whose 
.recent  conduct  had  filled  her  with  the  deepest  dislike, 
coupled  with  a  sort  of  vague  apprehension  that  the  visits 
of  these  soldiers,  with  Darrow  at  their  head,  at  this  par- 
ticular time,  was  in  some  way  to  affect  the  safety  of  her 
friend,  whom  she  thought  thus  to  shield  from  the  impend- 
ing danger.  And  it  was  not  till  they  became  seated  in 
the  room  by  themselves,  that  it  occurred  to  her,  that  she 
had  voluntarily  afforded  her  lover  the  very  opportunity 
which,  at  their  recent  interview,  he  had  earnestly  re- 
quested, but  which  she  had  so  promptly  and  pointedly 
refused  him.  Blushing  deeply  at  the  thought  of  her  ap. 
parent  inconsistency,  and  fearful  that  this  act  would  be 
misconstrued  by  the  other,  she  suddenly  commenced 
uttering  an  apology  or  explanation,  but  perceiving  some 
worse  dilemma  from  so  doing,  she  stopped  short  in  the 
midst  of  a  sentence,  blushing  more  deeply  than  at  first, 
while  an  embarrassing  silence  ensued,  which  neither 
party,  for  some  moments,  was  able  to  break.  Warring- 
ton, however,  comprehending  the  cause  of  her  embarrass- 
ment at  a  glance,  and  anxious  to  relieve  it,  soon  rallied, 
and  observed : 

"Fear  not,  Miss  Hendee,  that  I  shall  misinterpret  this 
act  of  yours,  in  inviting  me  to  a  seat  with  you,  here :  I 
believe  I  can  appreciate  the  motives  that  led  to  it,  and  I 
certainly  feel  very  grateful  for  the  deed." 

"  You  were  ever  generous,  Mr.  Howard,"  replied  Alma, 
with  a  grateful  smile,  "  but  do  you  comprehend  all  the 
motives  that  might  have  influenced  me  in  this?" 

"  I  may  not  all,  but  will  Miss  Hendee  state  wherein  she 
supposes  I  may  not  understand  them?" 

"  Did  you  recognize  any  of  the  voices  of  these  last 
yisitors,  while  they  were  at  the  door,  or  have  you 
eince?" 

"  I  can  scarcely  say  I  have,  though  I  conclude  them  to 
be  soldiers  from  yonder  garrison." 

"  They  are — all  that  will  appear,  at  least,  I  presume, 
and  among  them  is  that  suspicious  fellow  from  whose 
intrusion  you  so  kindly  relieved  me  the  other  day.    He 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  121 

went  away  at  that  time,  I  think,  harboring  revengeful 
feelings  towards  you,  and  does  not  this  visit  involve  some 
design  against  your  safety? — Though  I  confess  I  can 
hardly  see  how  you  should  be  sought  here  with  any  pur- 
pose of  revenge." 

"  You  may  be  right,  Miss  Hendee,"  said  the  other, 
thoughtfully,  after  a  silence  of  a  moment;  "you  may  be 
right  in  supposing  me  the  object  of  this  visit.  1  have  had 
some  suspicions  from  the  first  that  it  was  so;  and  I  have 
noticed  some  indications,  indeed  since  we  have  been  in 
this  room,  which  go  to  confirm  me.  Yes,  you  may  be 
right  in  this,  but  wrong,  I  think,  in  judging  of  the  motives 
that  have  led  to  the  visit." 

«'  What  other  motive  can  there  be  but  the  one  I  as- 
signed?" at  length  asked  Alma,  with  an  air  of  perplexity 
mingled  with  some  uneasiness. 

"  Miss  Hendee,"  resumed  Warrington,  with  considerable 
embarrassment  at  the  effort,  "  your  question  leads  me  to 
a  declaration,  which  my  painfully  conflicting  obligations 
as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  gentleman  who  has  received  much 
kindness  from  your  family,  will  be  some  excuse,  I  hope, 
for  withholding  till  now ;  but  which  my  feelings  will  allow 
me  to  withhold  no  longer.  Miss  Hendee,  my  name  is  not 
Howard  1 " 

«  Not  Howard ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Hendee,  with  a  look 
of  unfeigned  surprise.  "Not  Howard!"  she  repeated, 
the  tall  arches  of  her  beautiful  brows  slightly  contracting 
with  an  incipient  frown.     "  Surely,  surely,  sir ! " 

"  Nor,  is  that,  I  fear  you  will  think,"  resumed  the  other 
seriously,  and  now  with  perfect  composure,  "the  worst 
of  the  avowal :  I  am  aware  what  I  risk — what,  indeed,  I 
shall  probably  forever  lose  in  your  esteem,  fair  lady. 
But  duty  to  you,  and  respect  to  ray  own  character,  compels 
me  to  disclose. — I  am  Charles  Warrington  !  " 

A  sharp,  inarticulate  exclamation  burst  from  the  lips 
of  the  astonished  and  recoiling  girl,  at  the  announcement 
of  the  name. 

"What  is  the  matter  there,  Alma?"  asked  Captain 
Hendee,  in  a  tone  modulated  somewhere  between  the 
jocose  and  anxious,  as  he  thrust  his  head  partly  through 
the  door,  beside  which  he  was  sitting,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  i*artition,  in  the  other  room,  "what  is  the  case 


122  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

there,  girl? — Doctor  Hunter  is  not  pulling  a  tooth  for  yoa, 

is  he?" 

Perceiving,  however,  nothing  but  dumb  shows  going  on 
between  the  parties,  and  satisfied  with  the  shot  he  had 
given  them,  he  left  them  to  another  embarrassing  silence, 
which,  for  many  minutes,  was  broken  by  neither. 

"  I  am  so  surprised  at  this  strange  and  unexpected 
development,"  at  length  observed  Miss  Ilendee,  though 
with  mind  and  feelings  still  unsettled  and  balancing  be- 
tween the  former  high  opinion  she  had  entertained  of  her 
companion  as  Howard,  and  the  preconceived  picture  of 
the  ruffian-like  character  with  which  she  had  been  ac- 
customed to  associate  Warrington  :  "  so  surprised  that  I 
hardly  know  what  I  should  say,  or  how  I  should  act  to- 
wards you,  sir,  in  the  new  character  in  which  you  now 
stand  before  me.  Am  I  to  understand  that  our  quiet 
home  here  is  now  to  be  made  the  theatre  of  contention  in 
a  dispute  for  a  possession  ?  " 

"  Heaven  forbid  !  "  replied,  Warrington,  eagerly,  "  you 
have,  Miss  Hendee,  my  pledge,  already  in  this  respect, 
given  to  you  at  our  last  interview — can  you  doubt  my  will 
to  redeem  it?  And  you  now  perceive  with  what  author- 
ity I  could  make  the  assurance.  But  though  you  can 
have  no  apprehensions  of  this  kind  of  me,  or  my  people, 
for  whom  I  can  safely  answer,  yet  what  will  be  your 
opinion  of  one  who  made,  and  has  since  sought  your  ac- 
quaintance under  a  disguised  name  ?  It  is  that  which 
troubles  me,  dear  lady.  And  in  that  you  have  an  ap- 
parent right,  at  least,  to  condemn  me,  though  not  acting  for 
myself,  but  for  those  who  assigned  me  the  part  in  which 
disguise  was  deemed  necessary." 

"  You  need  not  forestall  your  sentence,  sir,"  said  the 
other,  something  very  like  a  smile  again  lighting  up  her 
sweetly  expressive  countenance,  "  I  know  too  little  of  the 
merits  of  this  unhappy  controversy,  I  freely  confess,  to 
feel  sure  of  doing  justice  to  either  party  in  any  opinion  I 
might  now  express.  I  believe  I  can  still  put  trust  in  you 
— at  least,  I  will  for  the  present  believe  so:  for  it  would 
indeed  be  humiliating  to  us  all,  to  find  ourselves  so  much 
mistaken  in  one  whose  character  we  had  so  highly 
estimated.  Yes,  in  you,"  she  repeated  with  emphasis, 
"  but  in  vour  party  "-—and  she  paused,  but  soon,  and  with* 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  123 

out  finishing  the  sentence,  resumed,  "can  you  inform  me 
who  is  that  fearful-looking  and  singular  stranger  in  the 
other  room? — or  was  I  mistaken  in  judging  from  some  ap- 
pearances I  noticed,  that  you  and  he  were  acquainted?" 

"Your  conjectures  were  true.  His  name,  however,  I 
cannot  disclose.  But  this  I  may  say,  that  he  is  not  all 
that  he  may  have  appeared  here  to-night;  and  yet  he  is 
far  more — a  man  of  many  high  and  noble  qualities,  com- 
bined with  extraordinary  powers  of  body  and  mind, 
though  now  placed  here  in  circumstances  as  inauspi- 
cious as  my  own.  These  circumstances,  as  they  will  make 
up  an  answer  to  the  question  you  asked  before  I  announced 
my  true  name,  I  will  now,  with  your  permission,  briefly 
explain." 

His  fair  auditor  signifying  a  willingness,  at  least,  to 
listen  to  the  explanation,  Warrington,  taking  a  comprehen- 
sive glance  at  the  true  grounds  of  the  controversy  between 
the  settlers  and  their  opponents,  drew  a  vivid  picture  of 
the  wrongs  and  consequent  sufferings  which  the  former  had 
endured,  and  which  led  to  the  part  he  had  taken  in  their 
behalf — explained  the  necessity  of  the  disguise  he  had  as- 
sumed, related  his  subsequent  career,  and  the  consequences 
to  himself  and  all  those  who  had  taken  a  conspicuous  part 
in  attempting  to  defend  the  poor  settlers  against  the  rapa- 
city of  their  oppressors. 

"Is  this,  Mr.  Howard — excuse  me,  Mr.  Warrington,  I 
should  say,"  observed  the  other,  evidently  interested, 
and  even  touched,  by  the  recital  she  had  just  heard;  "is 
this,  indeed,  an  impartial  account  of  this  hapless  contest? 
And  are  these  armed  men  here  to  drag  you  to  prison,  and 
an  ignominious  death,  for  acting  a  part  like  this?  Why, 
0,  why,  did  you  venture  here  into  the  very  jaws  of  the 
lion?  and  now,  why  do  you  a  moment  linger?  why  not 
escape  while  they  are  at  their  noisy  carousals  in  the 
other  room? — that  door — these  windows " 

"Have  all  been  guarded!  each  by  a  soldier  with  a 
loaded  musket,  from  the  moment  we  entered  this  room. 
An  ear,  practised  in  the  forest,  has  not  failed  to  catch  the 
sound  of  their  cautious  and  stealthy  tread,  the  occasional 
rubbing  of  their  muskets  against  their  buttons,  and  indi- 
cations of  their  presence  and  object  not  to  be  mistaken." 

"Oh!    I   do  wonder   how  you    can    be   so   calm.      What 


X24  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

hope — what  resource  is  there  left  you,  in  which  you  can 
now  trust  for  escape  ?  " 

"Many!  be  not  concerned.  They  probably  think  we 
shall  remain  through  the  night,  and  will  deem  it  safest 
to  defer  any  attempt  to  seize  us  till  they  suppose  us 
asleep.  I  trust  much  in  my  friend,  ever  fruitful  in  ex- 
pedients, and  now  acting  a  part  in  the  other  room,  as 
nigh  as  I  can  judge  from  what  occasionally  reaches  my 
ear,  with  reference  to  effecting  this  objeet.  Keshobee  is 
a  friend ;  and  may  I  not  hope  an  acquiescence,  at  least, 
from  you?" 

"  Most  certainly  the  latter,  and  if  I  could — but  what 
could  I  do?" 

"  Perhaps  nothing — perhaps  much.  We  must  act  on 
circumstances.  But  had  we  now  not  better  part?  I  feel 
anxious  to  be  co-operating  with  my  friend,"  said  War- 
rington, rising  and  moving  towards  the  door. 

"One  moment  longer — that  is,  if  you  are  not  too  anx- 
ious to  go,"  observed  Alma,  motioning  him  to  remain. 

"  What  would  my  fair  friend  say?"  asked  the  other, 
perceiving  her  to  hesitate. 

*  Should  you  escape  this  danger,  as  I  hope  you  may," 
at  length  replied  Alma,  "I  trust — 1  pray,  that  you  will 
not  be  so  thoughtless  as  to  venture  here  again.  There 
may  be  other  hazards  in  repeating  your  visits  here,  be- 
sides the  fearful  one  you  have  already  incurred  of  being 
seized  in  behalf  of  the  public  authorities." 

"Indeed!  but  in  what  way,  lady  ?" 

"  There  may  be  those,"  she  answered  with  evident  re- 
luctance, and  with  severely  conflicting  feelings,  "who 
would  look  on  your  visits  here  with — with  suspicion; 
and  who,  I  fear — who,  perhaps,  1  would  say,  might  have 
a  disposition — that  is,  he  may " 

"Tdid  not  understand  the  name,"  said  Warrington, 
witli  the  appearance  of  wishing  to  relieve  the  embarass- 
ment  of  the  other,  and  assist  her  to  proceed. 

"  1  did  not  name  him,  and  I  would  gladly  avoid  doing 
so,"  replied  she,  still  hesitating. 

"  But  of  what  avail  will  be  your  caution,  unless  I  know 
against  whom  to  be  on  my  guard?"  asked  he,  with  a 
little  spice  of  the  lawyer  in  the  question,  he  being  more 
anxious  to  learn  the  name  of  his  unknown  rival,  to  whom 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8.  125 

he  rightly  conjectured  she  alluded,  than  concerned  on 
account  of  any  danger  he  apprehended  from  his  jealousy 
or  malice. 

"  But  if  you  kept  entirely  away  ?— unless,  perhaps,  you 
should  be  sought  out  for  the  crimes  you  have  already 
committed,"  said  the  girl,  half-playfully.  "  I  much  wish 
you  could  have  received  this  intimation  from  others, 
she  continued,  after  a  pause;  "but  as  you  might  not,'" 
and  as  I  have  ventured,  perhaps  unadvisedly,  to  give  it 
I  know  not  hut  you  have  a  just  right  to  require  the  name. 
It  is  Sherwood — one  Jacob  Sherwood." 

"  Sherwood  ! "  said  Warrington  in  utter  surprise. 
"  Sherwood,  that  then  explains  several  things  that  to  me 
were  mysteries.  Sherwood  !  "  he  repeated,  musing,  and 
speaking  as  if  to  himself,  "yes  I  know  the  man,  and  the 
heart  of  the  man.  But  is  it  possible,  with  Sherwood  for 
a  rival,  and  Alma  Hendee  the  object,  that  she  for  him 
would " 

"  Trespasser !  "  exclaimed  the  other,  shaking  her  head 
with  a  look  in  which  menace  and  roguishness  were  quietly 
blended,  "  trespasser,  beware  !  " 

"  Cruel !  cruel !  I  must  not  then  even  ask  if  there  is 
hope,  even  one  ray  of  hope,  in  the  future  !"  rejoined  War- 
rington, with  the  air  of  tender  reproach. 

'«  Oh,  how  can  you  ask  "—replied  Alma,  her  countenance 
now  changing  to  a  serious,  even  a  sad  expression,  "  how 
can  you  ask,  or  expect  this,  when  T  see  no  hope  for 
myself?  And  how  can  you  think  of  entering  into  a  dis- 
cussion so  useless,  at  such  a  moment  as  this  ?    Go,  go !  '"' 

When  Warrington,  at  the  close  of  the  interview  above 
described,  entered  the  room  of  the  revellers,  he  found 
them  at  the  height  of  their  boisterous  carousals.  The 
health  of  every  known  potentate  on  the  earth,  and  smut 
under  it,  was  proposed  and  drunk,  by  the  huge  stranger, 
nowthe  undisputed  master  oi  he  ceremonies,  who  at  each 
rapidly  succeeding  toast,  tossed  off  his  glass  with  as  little 
apparent  regard  to  its  effect  on  himself,  as  if  the  bever- 
age had  been  water— such,  at  least,  was  there  every 
appearance  of  his  doing.  For  he  always  lifted  a  full  glass 
to  his  lips,  and  returned  it  empty  to  the  table,  while  he 
made  this  his  boast  on  urging  the  same  on  his  companions 
of  the  revel,  all  of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  Darrow^ 


i26  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

seemed  little  disposed  to  refuse  a  compliance.    The  latten 
however,  after  drinking  a  few  stinted  glasses,  contrived 
constantly  to  evade  a  repetition  which  would  unfit  him  foi 
the  enterprise,  that  he,  at  least,  had  by  no  means  lost 
eight  of  ;  while  it  was  with  increasing  uneasiness  that  he 
perceived  the  fearful  inroads  which  the  liquor  was  making 
on  the  faculties  of  his  men.    This,  however,  might  not 
have  alarmed  the  wary  sergeant,  had  both  of  his  intended 
Victims    been  in  the  saw^e  condition.     Since  so  long  as 
they  drank  as  freely  as  the  rest,  the  difficulty  of  their 
seizure,  he  knew,  would  be  diminished  in  the  same  pro- 
portion   with  the  powers  of  the  men,  upon  whom  he 
depended  for  its  accomplishment.    But  Warrington,  he 
soon  noticed,  though  mingling  gayly  with  the  rest  at  the 
board,  seemed  inclined,  like  himself,  to  drink  but  lightly, 
making  the  excuse  when  urged  to  take  more,  that  he 
wished  to  keep  sober,  in  order  to  take  care  of  his  brother 
hunter,  who  seemed  in.  a  fair  way  to  require  his  assist- 
ance.   And  the  appearance  of  the  stranger,  indeed,  soon 
well  confirmed  the  truth  of  the  observation.     His  wit  fast 
grew  vapid ;  and  some  of  his  remarks  were  so  silly,  that 
none  but  the  very  drunkest  of  the  soldiers  would  join 
him  in  the  maudlin  roar  of  laughter  which  he  raised  at 
each  of  his  efforts  to  be  witty.    He  began  to  sway  to  and 
fro,  and  his  huge  frame  to  totter  at  every  step,  like  a 
sapped  tower  about  to  fall  to  the  earth —  all  of  which  was 
observed  by  Darrow  with  a  look  of  malicious  satisfaction. 
Warrington  now  proposed  that  the  company  should 
break  up,  and  all  retire  for  the  night.    This  proposal  was 
seconded,  though  from  far  different  motives,  by  both  the 
Captain  and  Darrow.     A  question,  however,  now  arose 
in  regard  to  the  accommodations  which  could  be  furnished 
for  sleeping;  the  Captain  stated  that  he  had  but  two 
spare  beds,  which  might  be  made  to  answer  for  four  of 
the  company.    He  should  Lave  been  extremely  happy  to 
be  able  to  accommodate  all  his  guests  with  beds;  but  as 
it  was,  they  must  agree  among  themselves  who  should 
occupy  those  he  could  furnish.    The  sergeant  immedi- 
ately proposed  that  Warrington  and  his  drunken  friend 
should  take  one  of  the  beds,  and  himself  and  one  of  his 
men  would  occupy  the  other,  while  the  rest  should  seek 
lodgings  in  the  barn.    At  this  moment,  the  drunken  out 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8.  127 

aw,  roused  from  the  stupor,  into  which  ue  seemed  to 
nave  fallen  during-  the  discussion,  so  far  as  to  appear 
conscious  of  the  point  of  debate,  and  hiccuping  at  every 
word,  swore  with  a  big  oath,  that  his  military  friends 
should  have  the  best — they  should  have  both  the  beds, 
or  he  would  fight  them  like  h — 1.  And  that  other  scurvy 
hunter,  who  was  noo  man  enough  to  drink  like  a  gentle- 
man, should  go  to  the  barn  with  him,  and  sleep  on  the 
nay,  or  he  would  fight  him  too,  and  be  d d  to  him." 

To  this,  Darrow,  for  some  reasons  of  his  own,  strenu- 
ously objected,  and  the  delate  was  growing  warm,  when 
Miss  Ilendee  entered  the  room,  and  after  asking  the 
cause  of  their  dispute  and  looking  a  moment  with  an  air 
of  disgust  at  the  now  helpless  stranger,  earnestly  begged 
of  her  father  to  let  the  creature  have  his  way,  and  by  no 
means  suffer  him  to  occupy  a  bed  in  the  house. 

"I  think,  Captain  Hendee,"  remarked  Warrington, 
now  for  the  first  time  offering  an  opinion,  "that  the 
man's  notions,  as  bad  off  as  he  appears  to  be,  are  correct. 
He  will  probably  keep  the  house  in  an  uproar  half  the 
night,  if  he  remains.  It  is  more  suitable,  I  think,  that 
he  should  be  taken  to  the  barn.  And  it  is  my  duty,  I 
suppose,  to  attend  him." 

"I  by  no  means  intended  to  exclude  you  in  my  pro- 
hibition, sir,"  said  Alma,  addressing  Warrington. 

"  Oh,  no,  certainly  not,  I  presume.  But  I  think  I 
ought  to  go  with  him,"  rejoined  Warrington.  "And  a 
bed  of  hay,"  he  added  gayly,  "  is  far  better  than  has 
sometimes  fallen  to  my  lot." 

"Hoy!  there,  Cap — Cap — Capting!"  stammered  out 
the  stranger,  lifting  his  head,  though  nearly  falling  out 
of  his  chair  at  the  effort ;  "  say,  you  Cap — Captain  Handy, 
Hindy — dev — divil  knows  what,  take  good  care — care  my 
rifle — cost  ten  pounds — king's  lawful  cur — cur — curren 
— cyation, — God  d n — bless  him  !  " 

"  And  of  mine  too,  captain,  if  you  will.  We  will  leave 
Chern  in  the  house  till  morning,  with  your  permission," 
observed  Warrington,  exchanging  a  significant  glance 
with  Miss  Hendee. 

Darrow,  who  till  now  had  manifested  a  determination 
that  ©ur  two  outlaws  should  remain  in  the  house  with 
him,  on  hearing  that  the  valuable  rifles  were  to  be  left 


128  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

behind,  seemed  no  longer  to  entertain  any  suspicion  oi 
the  arrangement  last  proposed,  and  conceded  the  point 
without  further  objection. 

Captain  Hendee  then  ordered  Neshobee  to  take  the 
rifles  into  the  next  room,  and  pointing  out  the  beds  to  be 
occupied  by  Darrow  and  his  men,  took  leave  of  his  guests 
for  the  night,  and  with  his  daughter  retired  to  the  other 
part  of  the  house.  Everything  being  now  settled  to 
the  apparent  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  it  only  remained 
to  get  the  helpless  and  unwieldy  outlaw  to  his  lodging 
in  the  barn.  And  Darrow  and  his  men  all  declaring  that 
they  would  by  no  means  consent  to  quit  their  generous 
entertainer  till  they  had  seen  him  safely  disposed  of  for 
the  night,  Warrington  and  the  soberest  soldiers  to  be 
found  in  the  company,  now  assisted  him  in  getting  on 
his  feet,  and  bracing  out  his  legs  so  that  he  could  be 
kept  from  dropping  on  the  floor.  When  this  with  con- 
siderable difficulty,  and  no  little  noise  and  merriment, 
had  been  effected,  they  planted  themselves  firmly  under 
each  arm,  and  at  the  word  of*  command,  sportively  given 
by  one  of  the  company,  trundled,  or  rather  pushed  his 
huge  and  staggering  carcass  forward  toward  the  barn, 
attended  by  the  whole  company,  reeling,  jostling  and 
shouting  along  by  his  side.  After  they  had  arrived 
there,  and  succeeded  in  getting  their  charge  over  the 
threshold,  they  unceremoniously  tumbled  him  on  a  pile 
of  hay  on  the  barn  floor ;  when,  after  exchanging  mock 
ceremonies  of  parting  politeness,  Darrow  and  all  his 
men,  now  feeling  sure  of  an  easy  and  safe  capture  as 
soon  as  their  intended  victims  were  asleep,  departed  for 
the  house. 

"  Charles !  "  said  the  big  outlaw,  raising  himself  on  his 
elbow,  as  soon  as  the  sounds  of  the  receding  footsteps  of 
the  soldiers  had  died  away,  "  Charles !  "  he  repeated,  in 
a  low,  though  perfectly  sober  tone,  "  you  creep  carefully 
round  to  those  side  windows,  and  see  if  some  of  these 
curses  ain't  still  lurking  round  the  barn  to  watch  us." 

The  other,  silently  complying,  soon  returned,  and  re- 
ported that  no  one  was  visible. 

"  Well  now,  Charles,"  resumed  the  first  speaker,  "you 
get  down  there  at  my  feet,  and  see  if  you  can  pull  off  my 
plaguy  old  boots.    There  is  more  than  a  quart  of  rum  it 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOtS.  129 

tbem.    I  can  neither  run  nor  fight  worth  a  copper  with 
my  feet  in  such  a  devil's  pickle." 

"  Upon  my  word,  Colonel ! "  said  Warrington,  while 
complying  with  the  request  just  made,  "you  would  make 
no  slouch  of  a  juggler.  I  saw  no  chance  of  succeeding  in 
any  way  short  of  drinking  or  openly  refusing.  And  I 
was  not  a  little  puzzled  to  decide  whether  you  were  stark 
mad  in  taking  such  quantities  of  liquor,  or  whether  you 
had  some  way  of  otherwise  disposing  of  it,  which  I  could 
not  detect.  Indeed,  for  the  last  half  hour  I  have  been 
perfectly  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  you  were  drunk 
or  sober.  How  did  you  contrive  to  cheat  them  so  clev- 
erly?" 

"  Buttoned  up  my  high  collared  coat,  so  as  to  come  up 
over  my  chin,  at  the  outset.  Then  minding  to  stand  so 
as  to  admit  no  side  views  to  that  hawk-eyed  sergeant,  or 
to  the  others,  till  they  were  too  far  gone  to  see  straight, 
I  dashed  every  glass  down  my  bosom.  Not  a  spoonful 
has  gone  d  wn  my  throat  to-night  I  so  help  me  Peter ! 
who  never  lied  but  three  times,  as  I  recollect.  But  come, 
we  must  be  thinking  of  something  else  now.  And  the 
first  question  to  be  settled  is,  whether  we  shall  go  off 
without  our  rifles,  and  perhaps  lose  them  entirely,  or 
whether  we  shall  hatch  up  some  scheme  to  get  them  out 
of  the  house?" 

"  I  have  strong  hope,  though  I  may  be  disappointed," 
said  the  other  in  reply,  "  that  we  shall  soon  get  hold  of 
them  through  other  agency  than  our  own.  I  think  we 
had  better  venture  on  remaining  here  a  few  moments 
longer  to  await  the  result  of  an  effort  which,  I  feel  quite 
confident,  will  be  made  for  this  purpose." 

"Aha,  Charley! — been  ploughing  with  the  Captain's 
heifer,  hey  ?  Well,  we  will  wait  a  little.  Yes,  yes,  I  see 
now  what  the  sly  jade  was  at,  when  she  set  in  so  plaus- 
ibly to  have  'the  loathsome  creature'  carried  off  to  the 
barn.  And,  indeed,  Charles,  I  suspected,  soon  after  I  ar- 
rived, that  you  was  in  for  it,  there.  But  how  in  the  name 
of  Cupid,  and  Hymen,  and  Venus,  and  all  that  sort  of 
heathen  cattle,  did  you  happen  to  pounce  upon  such  a 
superb  piece  of  housel  stuff  ?  I  thought  you  never  strayed 
go  far  down  here  to  the  land's  end?" 

Warrington  then  related  to  his  companion  all  the  oir* 

9 


ISO  *SE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

cumstances  connected  with  his  acquaintance  with  the 
different  members  of  the  Hendee  family,  his  late  dis- 
covery relative  to  his  ownership  of  the  land,  and  the 
course  which  he  had,  and  still  intended  to  pursue  in  that 
respect,  without  revealing,  however,  the  uncertain  and 
somewhat  peculiar  attitude  in  which  he  stood  with  the 
daughter. 

"  Right  nobly  said  and  done-! "  exclaimed  the  other, 
who  had  listened  with  the  appearance  of  much  interest 
to  the  recital,  and  who  seemed  highly  to  appreciate  the 
delicate  generosity  of  Warrington,  "  nobly,  indeed,  though 
with  a  higher  touch  of  the  chivalrous,  I  fear,  my  dear  fel- 
low, than  you  would  often  find  reciprocated  in  this  wooden 
age  and  country.  However,  you  will  one  of  these  days 
be  rewarded,  I  suppose,  by  receiving  the  same  lands,  and 
an  article  with  them  that  will  richly  pay  you  for  your 
forbearance.  For  by  all  the  saints,  from  Saint  Paul 
down  to  ragged  Saint  Patrick,  I  swear,  that  if  there  be 
any  angels  of  clay — that,  though,  is  nonsense  for  a  mar- 
ried man.  But  seriously,  Charles,  I  don't  know  when  I 
have  seen  the  like  of  that  girl !  A  form  and  face,  the 
mould  of  which,  I  think,  must  have  been  broken  with  but 
one  cast — eyes  with  the  rich  and  lustrous  hue  of  good 
old  indigo,  though  pure  and  clear  as  the  mudless  crystal 
to  the  very  depths  of  the  soul  beyond  them.  And  then 
her  smile,  Charles — enough  to  craze  an  anchorite,  by 
heavens ! " 

"Really,  Colonel,"  rejoined  Warrington, jocosely,  "you 
would  make  me  jealous  if  I  had  but  a  tithe  of  the  title  to 
the  girl  that  you  seem  to  suppose.  She  is  engaged,  man, 
to  one  Sherwood,  the  very  fellow,  as  I  this  night  ascer- 
tained from  her  own  lips,  whom  we  caught  and  beech- 
sealed  for  a  spy  and  traitor,  on  our  way  down  the  Creek, 
and  to  whom,  doubtless,  we  are  indebted  for  this  con- 
certed plan  for  our  seizure." 

"  1  heard  of  your  doings  with  that  scoundrel,  as  I  came 
along  a  day  or  two  after.  And  the  only  fault  I  find 
about  it  is,  that  you  did  not  string  him  up,  according  to 
the  decree  of  convention,  in  such  case  made  and  pro- 
vided. But  can  it  be  possible,  Charles,  that  God  ever  made 
this  girl  for  such  a  fellow  ?  I  swear,  I  don't  believe  it ' 
And  if  there  is  not  enough  of  you  to  set  him  aside,—— " 


THE  GREEN  IIOUNTAIX  B0Y8.  fcjl 

«  Well,  what  then  ?  " 

"Why,  you  don't  deserve  her,  that's  all — but  whist!  I 
thought  I  heard  a  footstep.   See  to  your  pistols,  Charles !  " 

"All  handy,  Colonel.  But  what  is  your  plan  if  they 
beset  us  here  ?  " 

"Why,  fight  'em,  most  likely,  I  think, — a  d n  poor 

story  if  we  two  ain't  a  match  for  those  four  half-fuddled 
devils ! " 

"  Certainly,  but  there  were  nearly,  or  quite  as  many 
more,  posted  round  the  house  in  ambush,  or  my  ears 
deceived  me  sadly." 

"  No,  were  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  positive,  Colonel." 

"  Well,  well,  Charles,  the  trifling  addition  of  three  or 
four  more  of  them  ain't  worth  standing  about.  But  hush 
again!"  continued  the  speaker,  his  voice  sinking  to 
a  whisper,  "I  was  right:  I  just  caught  the  glimpse  of 
a  head  peering  in  at  that  side  door." 

The  senses  of  the  big  outlaw  had  not  deceived  him. 
And  the  object  of  his  suspicion  now  appeared  several 
times  before  the  partly  opened  door;  though  at  each  time 
suddenly,  and  for  a  moment  withdrawn.  At  length 
the  door  was  cautiously  opened  considerably  wider,  and 
the  questionable  head  thrust  fairly  in,  where  it  remained 
stationary  as  a  block  for  a  full  minute. 

"Umph!"at  length  uttered  the  object,  in  a  low,  but 
distinct  tone. 

"All  right,"  said  Warrington,  "It  is  Neshobee,  as  I 
expected." 

"  Umph!  me  come — got  urn  your  rifles,"  said  the  latter, 
noiselessly  advancing,  and  handing  the  guns  to  each  of 
their  respective  owners. 

"  You  have  done  us  no  fool  of  a  favor,  my  fine  fellow," 
said  the  elder  Green  Mountain  Boy.  "  How  did  you  get 
the  guns  out  of  the  house?" 

"Missus  Alma  contrive  urn  all,"  replied  the  Indian. 
"  She  put  um  out  her  sleep-room  window — then  say  it — 
to  me  go  bring  um." 

"A  glorious  girl,  that,  by  Jupiter!"  resumed  the 
former.  "You  and  she  both,  my  red  friend,  deserve  a 
pension  at  our  hands.  Here,  ^aJce  hold  of  this  crown 
piece,  to  begin  upon." 


132  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Him  good !  Cappen,  him  good  afore,"  said  the  natire, 
taking  the  proffered  coin. 

« And  I  will  try  to  continue  so,"  said  Warrington, 
thrusting  another  crown  into  the  Indian's  ready  hand. 
"But  anything  more,  Neshobee?'1  he  continued,  judging 
from  the  other's  manner,  that  he  had  something  further 
to  impart. 

'«  Missus  Alma  say  me  tell  urn  go — say  the  rest  sogers 
come  in  house  now,  drink  rum  more  again — say,  go 
straight,  quick,  better — no  stay  minute." 

"  Good  advice,  too,"  said  the  big  outlaw,  "  and  let  us 
lose  no  time  in  following  it,     Charles,  lead  the  way !  " 

Cautiously  emerging  from  the  barn,  and  clearing  the 
yard  fence,  our  two  friends  now  proceeded,  with  silent 
but  rapid  steps,  through  the  open  field,  till  they  gained  a 
knoll  about  sixty  rods  from  the  house,  when  the  nameless 
outlaw  paused  and  looked  back. 

«  Clear  of  the  rascals  at  last,  I  believe,"  observed  War- 
rington. 

The  other  made  no  reply,  but  stood  as  if  debating  some 
point  in  his  mind,  which  he  was  unable  to  decide. 

"  Well,  which  way  now,  Colonel  ?"  resumed  the  former, 
thinking  his  companion  might  be  hesitating  about  the 
route  they  should  take. 

"  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ! "  at  length  exclaimed  the 
other,  violently  dashing  back  both  his  hands.  "  Give  me 
joy,  Charles,"  he  added,  without  paying  the  least  attention 
to  the  question  that  had  just  been  asked  him,  "give  ma 
joy,  for  I  have  conquered." 

"  Indeed,  sir*,  it  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to  compre- 
hend you." 

"Not  comprehend  me!  Oh,  true,  how  should  you" 
It  only  passed  through  my  mind.  Well,  Charles,  I  have 
been  sorely  tempted— never  so  tempted  in  my  life." 

"About  what,  pray?" 

"  Why,  about  going  over  and  taking  yonder  fort  to. 
night.  According  to  your  account  of  the  numbers  now 
on  this  side,  there  cannot  be  over  ten  or  a  dozen  left  in 
the  garrison.  You  and  I  could  have  taken  their  boat  here, 
while  they  were  waiting  for  us  to  get  to  sleep,  slipped 
over,  and  made  the  attempt.  I  think  we  could  carry  it. 
And,  ah!"  continued  the  speaker,   rubbing  his  hands 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  183 

)n  ecstasy,  "there  would  have  been  glory,  glory  in  it, 
Charles !  But  duty  forbade ;  for  a  failure  certainly,  and 
success,  probably,  would  have  defeated  an  object  of  two- 
fold importance  to  the  country.  And  conscience  told  me 
I  should  forego  my  private  wishes  for  public  good.  That 
object,  as  stone  walls  have  ears,  they  say,  I  will  not  name 
here.  But  it  was  that  which  brought  me  into  this  section. 
Hendee's  situation  here,  so  near  one  of  the  enemy's 
strongholds,  made  it  important  that  his  feelings  should 
be  known.  And  it  was  for  that  purpose  I  called  to-night, 
when  I  unexpectedly  found  you.  I  intended  to  have  been 
at  half  a  dozen  other  places  before  this,  and  I  should,  but 
for  this  cursed  bother  with  these  minions  of  hell  and  New 
York.  We  will  now  on  to  your  encampment.  I  called 
there  at  sunset.  Your  lieutenant  had  returned.  The 
party  sent  to  seize  the  surveyor  had  just  been  heard  from, 
and  were  expected  to  arrive  with  their  prisoner  to-night. 
He  must  be  tried  and  disposed  of  in  a  hurry.  But  have 
you  made  any  further  discoveries  about  the  York  justice 
in  this  section  ?  " 

"  I  have  ascertained  his  residence,  and  discovered  the 
bearing  of  his  feeling  towards  the  enemy — nothing  fur- 
ther." 

"  Enough  !  I  have  received,  since  we  parted,  papers 
which  settle  the  case.  We  must  have  him  up,  and  do  off 
all  this  York  business  in  a  batch  in  the  morning ;  for  there 
is  much  to  be  done  to-morrow,  in  preparation  of  a  general 
meeting  of  the  trusty  to-morrow  night,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Middle  Falls.  Ah  !  Charles,  there  is  something  afoot, 
to  which  this  petty  warfare  we  have  been  engaged  in  with 
New  York,  is  as  a  rushlight  to  the  meridian  sun !  I  burn 
to  be  in  it ;  for  it  will  be  great,  daring,  and  glorious  !  " 

Leaving  our  two  Green  Mountain  Boys  to  proceed  to 
their  present  destination,  with  heart  swelling  at  tin; 
thought  of  the  future,  and  somewhat  elated  withal  at 
their  fortunate  escape  from  a  danger  of  certainly  no  small 
magnitude,  when  the  vicinage  of  the  fort,  and  the  small 
chance  of  a  rescue  are  considered,  we  will  return  for  a 
moment  to  the  company  we  left  at  the  house.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  describe  the  rage  and  chagrin  of  Darrow, 
and  his  men,  when,  after  waiting  till  they  supposed  their 
two  intended  victims  were  helpless  in  sleep,  they  pro- 


134  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8, 

ceeded  stealthily,  and  with  undoubting  assurance  of  an 
easy  victory,  to  the  barn,  and  discovered  that  their  birds 
were  both  flown.  They  saw  at  once  that  they  had  been 
fairly  outwitted  by  the  wily  outlaws.  Solacing  them- 
selves, however,  with  a  promise  of  seizing  the  fugitives 
another  day,  they  gave  up  the  project  for  the  present, 
well  knowing  that  any  attempt  at  pursuit  would  now  be 
utterly  useless.  And  at  the  command  of  Darrow,  who 
kept  his  future  purposes,  whatever  they  might  be,  to 
himself,  they  all  silently  withdrew  from  the  house,  and 
immediately  crossed  over  to  the  fort. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"  They  came  not  from  the  head,  it  was  the  heart  that  wrote 

them." 

The  next  morning  after  the  affair  at  the  Lower  Falls, 
between  our  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  the  hired  minions  of 
Colonel  Reed,  a  separation,  as  the  reader  will  readily  re- 
member, took  place  among  the  former,  the  several  individ- 
uals who  had  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  in  our  story,  de- 
parting in  different  directions,  and  with  objects  as  diverse 
as  their  various  destinations.  Some  of  these  individuals, 
still  designed  to  sustain  a  close  connection  with  the  events 
we  have  undertaken  to  delineate,  have  been  neglected 
through  several  of  our  last  chapters,  in  order  to  preserve, 
as  unbroken  as  possible,  the  chain  of  the  leading  part  of 
the  narrative,  in  several  scenes  we  had  commenced,  sc 
nearly  connected  as  to  render  a  break  alike  disagreeable 
to  both  reader  and  writer.  But  being  allowed  a  short 
respite  before  following  those  with  whom  we  have  just 
parted,  we  now  hasten  to  bestow,  in  the  first  place,  some 
attention  on  our  friend  Selden,  and  his  new  charge,  the 
volatile,  but  not  ungifted,  Jessy  Reed,  by  following  them 
to  the  destination,  for  which  they  were  on  the  point  of 
embarking  when  we  left  them.  This  was  at  Skenesboro', 
near  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  so  called  from  the  name 
of  the  proprietor  of  a  large  body  of  land  at  this  place, — 
Colonel  Skene,  who,  being  not  only  a  wealthy  landholder, 
but  the  commander  of  one  of  the  king's  regiments,  had 


THJT  GR  KEN  310  UN  TAIN  BOYS.  135 

fcsre  constructed  a  large,  strong,  stone  house,  and  made 
it  a  sort  of  military  post,  as  well  as  the  residence  of  his 
family  and  various  dependents.  The  whole  of  this  curious 
establishment,  not  a  little  resembling  that  of  one  of  th. 
ancient  feudal  lords,  was,  at  this  time,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Skene,  a  son  of  the  proprietor,  the  father 
having  been  some  months  absent,  engaged  in  negotia- 
tions for  his  own  aggrandizement  at  the  British  court. 
It  was  to  this  place  that  Miss  Reed  had  so  fearlessly  un- 
dertaken a  voyage  in  an  open  skiff,  with  one  oarsman,  and 
Selden,  her  volunteer  knight  attendant.  But  a  descrip- 
tion of  this  voyage,  together  with  many  circumstances 
which  preceded  it,  we  will  now,  agreeably  to  a  previous 
intimation,  allow  the  fair  voyager  to  give  in  her  own 
language.  And  for  this  purpose  we  present  the  following 
letter,  sent  by  her  a  few  days  after  her  arrival  at  Skenes- 
horo\  and  received  on  the  morning  following  the  events 
recorded  in  the  last  chapter : — 

w  To  Miss  Alma  Hexdee, — 

"  I  have  most  serious  doubts,  my  dear  Alma,  whether 
[  am  exactly  myself.  And  should  you  be  equally  dubious, 
as  I  expect  you  will,  when  you  have  perused  all  that  I  shall 
now,  under  the  rose,  impart,  you  may  set  it  down,  if  you 
please,  as  the  re'ation  of  a  pretty  dream,  which  has  passed 
through  the  brain  of  Philip  Skene's  half-courted  high- 
flyer, while  dozing  under  the  soporific  thoughts  of  a 
matter  of  course,  all  very  suitable  sort  of  a  match,  with 
his  grave  and  calculating  majorship.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, I  imagine,  is  certain;  and  that  is,  that  I  am  here 
at  Skenesboro',  snugly  immured  in  the  Major's  stone 
eastie.  And  why  I  am  so  positive  of  this  is,  that  I  fee; 
so  sleepy,  and  have  felt  so  ever  since  he  left  us.  He ! 
who?  Ah  !  that  sets  me  afloat  again  !  But  I  will  begin 
at  the  beginning;  and,  dream,  or  no  dream,  you  shall 
have  the  whole  of  my  adventures  with  (now  be  makii.g 
up  your  mouth  for  interjections!)  those  horrid,  brave, 
dear,  ugly  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

"  Accompanying  my  father  from  Montreal,  with  my  half 
Indian  girl,  Zilpah  Wampum,  under  the  arrangement 
that  we  should  be  left,  and  stationed  at  Skenesboro* 
during  his  contemplated  sojourn  of  some  time  in  the  city 


1S6  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

of  New  York,  I  besought  him  right  earnestly  on  the  way. 
to  let  me  go  with  him  to  visit  his  possessions  up  Otter 
Creek,  to  which  he  intended  to  return  for  a  day  after 
landing  us  at  the  Major's.  After  a  few  of  those  not  very 
alarming  affairs,  pshaws !  pishes  !  etc.,  I  carried  my  point, 
as  I  generally  do,  with  my,  I  fear,  too  indulgent  paient. 
And  what  was  a  still  greater  victory,  and  certainly  much 
harder  to  be  won,  I  prevailed  upon  him  at  last  to  let  us 
remain  there  for  a,  few  days  alter  he  had  proceeded  on 
his  journey,  under  the  condition  that  I  should  take  a 
very  fair,  warm,  and  very  calm  day  within  a  week  at 
farthest,  and,  with  our  best  boat,  and  two  of  our  most 
careful  men  there,  proceed  to  our  original  destination. 

"  Well,  there  we  remained  at  that  wild,  romantic  place, 
happy  as  larks,  by  day  rambling  round  the  fields  for 
flowers,  skirting  the  woods  for  spruce  gum,  boxberries, 
and  birds'  uests,  and  at  night,  listening  to  the  adven- 
tures of  the  men,  or  quizzing  the  honest  old  Mcintosh, 
the  commander  of  the  post,  as  he  calls  himself — there  we 
remained,  I  say,  till  the  fourth  day  after  father  had  left 
us,  when,  who  should  make  his  appearance,  but  that 
plausible  and  oily-tongued  beau  of  yours,  Jacob  Sher- 
wood, announcing  that  a  band  of  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
headed  by  Warrington,  the  outlaw,  was  in  full  march  to 
lay  waste,  burn,  and  destroy  our  possessions,  and  mur- 
der every  soul  to  be  found  on  the  premises,  or  at  least  to 
carry  us  off  as  captives  to  their  dens  in  the  mountains! 
My  heart  beat  like  a  young  drummer !  And  as  for  Zil- 
pah,  though  mute  as  a  fish,  her  complexion  wonderfully 
improvedVbout  that  time,  I  assure  you.  However,  being 
a  soldier's  daughter,  as  well  as  yourself,  I  soon  made  up 
my  mind  not  to  die  of  fright,  at  least;  so  I  flew  round, 
helped  the  men  to  make  cartridges,  and  whatever  else  I 
could  do,  in  preparation  for  the  expected  visit.  Sher- 
wood was  invited  to  aid  in  putting  the  garrison  in  a  state 
of  defence,  and  remain  with  us  through  the  coming  siege. 
But  oh,  no  !  he  couldn't  possibly  !  He  must  be  off  to  the 
woods  to  watch  the  enemy's  approach,  and  give  us  signal 
guns  when  they  arrived  at  the  clearing.  Well,  after  the 
whole  establishment  had  resounded  with  the  din  of  prep- 
aration about  an  hour,  and  everything  was  prepared  for 
their  reception,  Mcintosh  called  us  together,  women  and 


THE  GREEN  310  UN  TAIN  BOTS.  137 

all,  for  a  council  of  war,  to  hear  the  different  plans  that 
might  be  offered  as  to  the  best  mode  of  conducting  the 
defence,  though  doggedly  determined,  all  the  while,  that 
none  but  his  own  should  be  adopted.  And  what  think  you 
that  was  ?  Why,  that  all  the  men  should  take  the  field 
against  the  enemy,  and  fight  their  way  back,  under  cover 
of  log-heaps,  to  the  works,  leaving  us  poor  women  entirely 
alone,  to  unbar  the  gate  to  receive  them,  when  they 
should  reach  it  and  give  the  watch-word.  This  sage  plan 
of  operations,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  did  not  at  all 
strike  my  fancy.  But  finding  opposition  useless,  I  sub- 
mitted with  the  best  grace  I  could,  demanding,  how- 
ever, as  the  terms  of  my  compliance,  that  they  should 
leave  me  a  good  musket  (a  Major's  wife  at  one  of  our 
stations,  some  years  ago,  having  taught  me  how  to  load 
and  fire  one),  for  our  defence,  in  case  I  should  have  occa- 
sion to  use  it.  This  settled,  Mcintosh  marshalled  his 
men,  sallied  out,  and  lay  in  ambush  till  the  enemy  ap- 
peared, when  a  battle  commenced  in  which  powder 
enough  was  burnt  to  have  slain  a  regiment,  though, 
strange  to  tell,  not  one  drop  of  blood  was  spilled  on 
either  side. 

"Now  comes  my  part  of  this  queer  drama.  While  1 
stood  at  the  gate  listening,  with  palpitating  heart,  to  the 
thunders  of  the  musketry  in  the  field,  and  anxiously 
awaiting  the  signal  to  open  to  our  men,  I  heard  steps 
outside  the  enclosure,  which  I  knew  could  not  proceed 
from  any  of  our  party.  Almost  desperate  with  fear,  I 
seized  the  loaded  gun  which  had  been  left  for  me,  and 
stood  on  the  defensive,  while  poor  Zilpah,  still  worse 
frightened,  fled  into  the  house.  All  for  a  few  moments 
was  quiet,  when  happening  to  look  round,  I  beheld,  to 
my  utter  surprise  and  consternation,  one  of  the  enemy 
approaching  me,  three  of  them,  it  seems,  having  already 
scaled  the  walls  behind  the  house.  Heaven  forgive  me ! 
in  the  desperation  of  the  moment  I  fired  my  gun  at  him, 
though,  thanks  to  the  same  heaven,  without  hitting  him. 
He  proved  to  be  the  lieutenant  of  Warrington,  who  now, 
with  the  other  man,  rushed  forward  from  behind  the 
honse,  when  all  stood  confronting  me.  But  what  do  you 
think  they  did  ?  Seize  me  like  ruffians,  as  from  Sher- 
wood's  tale  of  the  horribles,  I  expected  ?    No,  they  came 


138  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYB. 

forward,  and,  in  the  most  mild  and  gentlemanly  manncc* 
advised,  nay,  entreated  me  to  retire  into  the  house,  tt 
which  I  now  suffered  myself  to  he  conducted  by  Lieu- 
tenant Selden,  who  had  just  providentially  escaped  deatj . 
by  my  hand  !  I  think  I  must  have  appeared  like  a  fool.  .» 
certainly  felt  like  one. 

"I  need  not  inform  you  that  our  men  now  soon  sur- 
rendered to  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who  took  posses- 
sion, claiming,  however,  none  of  the  movables,  and  ask- 
ing only  that  the  men  should  leave  the  place  the  next 
day.  The  treatment  I  received,  and  the  explanations 
given  me  by  Warrington  (who,  by  the  way  is  a  noble- 
looking  fellow ;  Alma,  I  wish  you  could  see  him),  in  re- 
gard to  this  war  about  titles,  soon  overset  all  my  pre- 
conceived opinions  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Iudeed, 
if  we  can  rely  on  their  statements,  I  hardly  know  how 
our  people  can  be  justified  in  driving  these  poor  settlers 
from  their  farms. 

"  But  what  shall  I  say  of  him — Mr.  Selden,  I  mean  5 
Who  would  credit — I  would  not  a  week  ago,  I  am  sure — 
that,  after  having  called  him  a  ruffian  and  monster  to  his 
face,  as  I  did  when  he  first  approached  me,  I  was  found 
in  the  twilight  of  the  same  evening,  rambling,  arm  in  arm, 
with  the  handsome,  quizzical,  audacious  rogie,  .along  the 
freshly  flowered  banks  of  the  Otter,  quoting  poetry  with 
him,  or  listening  to  the  better  poetry  of  his  own  brilliant 
conceptions,  which  sometimes  flowed  from  his  lips  in 
bursts  of  surpassing  eloquence,  and  sometimes  in  sallies 
of  wit,  so  original  and  irresistibly  humorous,  that  I  would 
defy  the  gravest  puritan  in  the  land  to  keep  his  risibies 
from  breaking  loose  on  the  occasion.  He  volunteered  to 
attend  me  to  Skenesboro',  the  next  day,  and  I — now  don't 
suspect  me  of  being  captivated  with  the  fellow,  Alma— I 
accepted  the  offer — how  could  I  do  less?  Well,  the  next 
morning,  with  Zilpah,  bag  and  baggage — the  bag,  you  will 
say,  perhaps,  should  have  been  given  to  him — and  with  one 
of  father's  trusty  and  strong-armed  Highlanders  for  an 
oarsman,  we  shipped  aboard  boat,  and  proceeded  down 
the  Creok.  The  day  was  most  serenely  fair.  And  our 
voyage  to  the  mouth  of  the  stream,  as  we  glided  along  the 
gently  flowing  current  in  its  meandering  course,  was  in- 
deed delightful.    The  forest-lined  banks  were  beautifully 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOT&  13S 

frosted  with  the  white  wood  violet,  or  blushing  with  beds 
of  wild  tulips ;  while  the  budding  branches  of  the  over- 
hanging trees  above  seemed  fairly  vivified  by  tbe  thou- 
sand melodious  duets  that  were  joyously  bursting  from 
the  happy  little  hearts  of  these  minstrel  lovers  of  the 
grove. 

"After  we  had  reached  the  open  lake,  we  found  a  pretty 
breeze  blowing  freshly  from  the  westward.  And  the  gen- 
tleman, fixing  up  a  blanket  for  a  sail,  our  little  craft  swept 
through  the  lake  right  merrily,  I  assure  you.  We  were 
.soon  abreast  of  your  charming  situation.  And  I  could 
hardly  consent  to  pass  you  without  hauling  up  for  a 
short  morning  call ;  but  the  men  mging  that  by  improv- 
ing the  breeze  we  could  easily  reach  our  destination  by 
night,  when  otherwise  we  might  fail  of  so  doing,  I  reluc- 
tantly agreed  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  and 
introducing  my  Green  Mountain  Phoenix — not  that  I  am 
particularly  charmed  with  him  myself,  but  I  think  you 
would  have  been  gratified  in  beholding  such  a  rara  avis  as 
a  gentleman,  as  he  really  is,  from  so  wild  and  savage  a 
region  as  this  Green  Mountain  country. 

"  At  noon  we  dined  quite  romantically  from  off  the  mid- 
dle seat  of  our  boat,  on  edibles  furnished  from  our  store 
basket,  and  neatly  arranged  by  Zilpah.  I  never  partook 
with  greater  zest;  and  what  with  the  keenness  of  our  ap- 
petites, the  novelty  of  the  affair,  and  the  thousand  spicy 
things  said  on  the  occasion,  1  don't  believe  I  should  have 
enjoyed  the  banquet  of  a  princess  with  half  the  pleasure 
that  I  did  this  meal. 

"After  we  bad  taken  our  refreshment  and  again  got 
under  way,  for  we  had  run  into  a  little  cove,  beautifully 
overarched  by  a  cluster  of  whispering  pines,  the  saucy 
rogue  so  managed  as  to  get  Zilpah  and  the  oarsman  into 
one  part  of  the  boat,  and  himself  and  your  humble  servant 
into  the  other,  with  our  blanket  sail  forming  an  impene- 
trable screen  between.  Here,  after  sentimental  "zing  and 
poetizing  awhile  over  the  ever-changing  views  of  scenery, 
alternating  with  the  majestic  and  beautiful,  as  we  rapidly 
glided  by  them,  he  began  a  set  of  compliments  so  very 
pointed,  and  squinting  loveward,  but  at  the  same  time  so 
oddly  framed,  that  I  knew  not  whether  to  laugh  or  be 
angry.    I  should  have  severely  <%hided  so  much  boldness 


149  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYa. 

in  a  stranger,  however,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  had  not 
the  provoking  creature,  carefully  watching  my  counte- 
nance, thrown  in  some  remark  that  gave  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent turn  to  the  whole  meaning  of  what  he  had  begun 
to  say.  So  you  see,  Alma,  how  far  I  am  from  anything 
like  the  tender  passion  in  this  strangely  begun,  aud  no  less 
strangely  maintained,  acquaintance. 

"  The  remainder  of  our  voyage  was  now  mostly  occupied 
by  him  in  giving  me  a  history  of  his  life  as  far  as  he  knew 
it  himself,  relating  the  singular,  and  certainly  very  ro- 
mantic adventures  through  which  he  passed,  from  his 
childhood  to  the  present  hour.  Having  neither  time  nor 
space  to  detail  them  now,  I  will  only  say  briefly,  that  he 
was  born  somewhere  in  New  England,  as  he  supposes, 
for  he  neither  knows  his  birthplace,  nor  the  name  of  his 
parents.  But  by  some  means  or  other  falling  into  mer- 
cenary hands,  when  a  mere  child,  he  was  sold  as  a  slave, 
— passed  through  several  hands,  and  at  length  carried 
over  the  waters, — taken  into  the  protection  of  a  philan- 
thropic nobleman  in  England,  by  whom  he  was  liberally 
educated,  and  furnished  with  a  handsome  outfit  to  pur- 
chase a  commission  in  the  army,  or  seek  his  fortune  wher- 
ever he  could  find  it.  He  then,  after  wandering  awhile 
in  Europe,  obeyed  the  impulses  of  bis  own  heart,  and 
came  to  visit  his  own  country  ;  when,  being  enamored  of 
a  sylvan  life,  and  thinking  he  should  enjoy  the  excite- 
ments usually  to  be  found  in  a  border  settlement,  he  soon 
found  his  way  to  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  enlisted 
in  the  controversy  which  he  here  found  going  on  between 
the  settlers  and  the  New  Yorkers. 

"  By  the  time  he  had  closed  this  very  interesting  and 
delightfully  told  autobiography,  we  hove  in  sight  of  the 
castellated  establishment  of  the  Skenes.  It  was  then, 
almost  for  the  first  time,  that  it  occurred  to  me,  that, 
attended  as  I  was,  my  meeting  with  the  family  must  be 
an  extremely  awkward  one,  since  the  feelings  of  the 
Major,  as  well  as  those  of  his  father,  the  Colonel,  are 
known  to  be  hostile  to  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  I 
could  not  forbear  hinting  this  to  Selden,  and  suggesting, 
at  the  same  time,  the  expediency  of  withholding  from 
the  family,  till  he  had  gone,  all  knowledge  of  the  late 
affair  at  the  Falls,  or  his  passing  incog,  among  them. 


TBE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8.  141 

a«0h,  no!'  was  the  prompt  reply,  *  mince  no  matters 
on  my  account,  fair  lady.  Having  made  my  peace  with 
her  who  is  must  interested,  and  obtained  an  absolution 
for  my  offences — have  I  not?  at  least,'  he  continued, 
with  a  tone  and  smile  so  sweet,  so  tender,  and  yet  so 
Imploring',  that  I  found  my  head  nodding  an  assent 
before  I  knew  it,  *at  least,  may  I  not  be  permitted  to 
hope  I  shall,  my  dear  Miss  Reed? — having  done  this  they 
must  be  singularly  disposed  indeed,  to  espouse  the  quar 
rels  of  others  if  they  offer  me  any  personal  disrespect. 
No,  no,  fear  it  not,  and  should  you  feel  disposed  to  coun- 
tenance my  remaining  at  this  place  through  the  night, 
I  shall  gladly  risk  all  consequences  to  myself  from  so 
doing.' 

""We  had  now  reached  the  lauding,  and  in  a  moment 
the  inmates  of  the  house,  who  were  expecting  me  about 
these  days,  and  had  conjectured  who  we  were,  all  rushed 
out,  and  Marge  and  Mary  Skene,  with  their  brother,  came 
flying  like  two  paper  kites  with  a  lubberly  boy  at  their 
tails,  down  to  the  boat  to  receive  us.  I  don't  Know  how 
I  made  my  tongue  do  its  office  in  returning  their  saluta- 
tions, for  my  heart  certainly  leaped  right  up  plump  into 
my  mouth,  and  I  cannot  conceive  how  that  poor  little 
member,  so  shamefully  belied  in  our  sex,  could  have 
possibly  found  room  to  wag!  It  did,  however,  and  I 
introduced  Mr.  Selden,  by  name,  to  them  all.  The  girls, 
I  thought,  seemed  rather  pleased  that  I  had  brought 
them  a  new  candidate  for  their  toils,  and  so  fine  a  look- 
ing fellow  into  the  bargain.  But  the  Major,  reckoning 
on  the  possibility,  I  suppose,  that  the  other  might  become 
a  candidate  for  the  toils  of  somebody  besides  sisters, 
looked  rather  askew  at  my  gentleman,  nevertheless,  not 
knowing  exactly  what  might  be  a  safe  conclusion  on  such 
uncertain  premises,  he  soon  brought  himself  to  behave 
quite  decently,  and  escorted  us  all  to  the  house  without 
further  ado.  But  further  trials  were  in  store  for  me  ;  for 
Mr.  Selden,  as  soon  as  we  had  all  got  comfortably  seated, 
to  my  surprise,  broke  the  ice  at  once — and,  after  craving 
their  attention  a  moment,  while  he  relieved  Miss  Reed, 
as  he  said,  of  a  task  which  he  could  readily  conceive  would 
be  an  unpleasant  one  for  her  to  perform,  very  coolly  re- 
lated the  whole  transaction  which  led  to  his  acquaint- 


142  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

ance  with  me,  and  the  consequent  responsibility  that 
devolved  on  him  of  seeing  me  safe  to  my  friends. 

44 1  felt,  though  I  can  scarcely  tell  why  I  should,  like  a 
criminal,  while  Mr.  Selden  was  making  this  development, 
which,  1  had  many  fears,  would  involve  his  personal 
safety  ;  notwithstanding  he  has  done  nothing,  as  yet,  he 
tells  me,  that  the  York  government  consider  worthy  of 
death  or  bonds.  All  seemed  much  surprised  at  what 
they  heard,  and  in  the  Major's  face — that  is,  as  soon  as 
he  could  comprehend  the  matter,  for  it  takes  an  idea 
some  time,  you  know,  to  get  through  his  cranium,  and 
no  great  wonder,  neither,  considering  how  far  it  has  to 
go — in  the  Major's  face  I  saw  evident  signs  of  a  gather- 
ing storm.  But  knowing,  that  on  a  reasonable  calcula- 
tion, Mr.  S.  might  count  on  two  days  at  least  before  a 
cloud  engendering  in  so  cold  a  climate  would  become 
sufficiently  charged  to  be  dangerous,  I  did  not  feel  greatly 
alarmed,  and  especially  so  as  the  girls  seemed  disposed 
to  laugh  at  the  affair.  And  Marge,  on  Mr.  Selden's  play- 
fully proposing  to  submit  himself  to  us  ladies  to  pass 
sentence  for  his  crimes,  quite  smartly  observed,  that  we 
would  sentence  him  to  an  imprisonment  of  a  week  in 
their  stone  jug,  as  she  termed  their  house,  and  be  let  out 
to  attend  us  on  horseback  or  in  a  boat  ride  each  day. 

"We  now  passed  the  remainder  of  the  evening  very 
pleasantly.  And  for  the  next  two  days  we  almost  literally 
inflicted  on  Mr.  Selden  the  sentence  which  had  been  so 
queerly  imposed.  We  read,  walked,  sailed,  and  rode 
alternately  ;  and  a  right  merry  time  we  had  of  it,  I  as- 
sure you — Mr.  Selden  in  the  mean  time  becoming  a  great 
favorite  with  the  girls,  especially  with  Marge,  to  whom  I 
thought  he  was  rather  more  particular  than  he  should 
have  been  in  strict  politeness  to  the  rest  of  us.  He  had 
an  object,  however,  I  presume,  in  conciliating  the  girls 
by  his  attentions.  Do  you  think,  Alma,  that  Marge  Skene 
is  so  very  handsome  as  some  pretend  to  think  her? 

" '  But  where  was  my  doughty  Major  in  the  mean- 
while ? '  you  will  ask.  Why  he  was  so  unaccountably 
busy  with  the  workmen  in  the  field  just  about  those  days, 
that  he  could  not,  on  any  account,  attend  us  on  any  of 
our  delightful  excursions.  And  when  he  joined  us  at 
our  meals,  he  was  as  grave  as  a  Turk.    Mr.  S.,  however, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  143 

I  thought,  was  less  alarmed  than  amused  at  his  awful, 
ness  of  countenance. 

'•  After  two  days  thus  spent,  and  on  the  morning  01  the 
third  after  our  arrival,  Mr.  S.  suddenly  announced  to  us 
his  intention  of  an  immediate  departure.  The  girls  were 
evidently  touched  with  regret  and  disappointment  at  this 
unexpected  announcement,  thinking,  perhaps,  that  their 
work  was  but  half  complete.  But  if  ever  Margery,  or 
Mary  Skene,  is  selected  by  him  for  a  cynosure,  I  have 
mistaken  his  taste ;  and  yet,  I  confess,  his  conduct  has 
sometimes  not  a  little  puzzled  me.  He  thanked  me  for 
the  consideration  I  had  shown  him  under  unpleasant  cir- 
cumstances of  our  first  acquaintance  in  a  manner  so 
handsome  and  feeling,  that  it  made  me  feel  like  a  con- 
demned and  guilty  one,  when  I  thought  of  that  mad  act 
of  mine,  which  marked  the  introduction  to  which  he  al- 
luded. He  then  very  politely  thanked  the  girls  for  their 
kindness  and  hospitality,  and  was  about  to  depart,  when 
Marge  found  tongue  to  invite  him  to  renew  his  visit. 

"'I  know  not.1  he  answered,  somewhat  pensively, 
'that  circumstances  will  ever  permit  me  that  pleasure  in 
person,  but  if  you  know  of  any  way,  fair  ladies,' — he  con- 
tinued, glancing  quite  meaningly  at  somebody,  as  the 
girls  in  their  jokes  would  afterwards  have  it— 'any  way 
of  receiving  the  visits  I  may  pay  you  in  dreams,  I  doubt 
not  that  you  will  often  be  favored  with  the  repetition  you 
have  so  kindly  invited.    Adieu,  ladies,  adieu.' 

"  I  do  not  certainly  know  the  reason  of  Mr.  Selden's 
abrupt  departure,  but  from  what  I  can  gather,  I  suspect 
the  Major  had  that  morning  despatched  an  express  to  the 
authorities  at  Albany,  with  a  view  to  get  the  former  ar- 
rested.  This,  I  presume,  he,  by  some  means  or  other,  got 
wind  of,  and  I  am  glad  of  it,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  it  defeated  Philip's  jealous  meanness.  He  gave  us 
all  quite  a  lecture  that  night  for  being  so  familiar  with 
one  who  was  so  much  a  stranger,  and  threw  out  many 
ill-natured  remarks  about  Mr.  S.  that  helped  his  own 
cause,  perhaps,  less  than  he  imagined.  I  wish  heaven 
had  made  him  such  a  man. 

"  I  must  now  close  this  long,  and,  I  fear,  very  foolish 
letter.  I  dare  not  read  it  over  "for  fear  I  should  burn  it. 
I  shall  remain  here  for  the  present — I  must,  I  suppose: 


144  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

till  father  returns.  O,  what  will  he  say  when  he  hears 
what  they  have  done  with  his  possessions!  For  myself, 
I  care  little  or  nothing  about  it.  He  loses  only  what  he 
paid  for  the  land— a  mere  trifle.  As  for  the  labor  and 
improvements  bestowed  there,  he  has  been  more  than 
twice  paid  by  the  profits  received.  Besides,  he  is  wealthy 
enough  without  this  property,  which,  I  really  suspect,  he 
cruelly  took  from  the  poor  settlers,  who  had  as  good  a 
right  to  it  as  himself — perhaps  better. 

"P.  S.  I  said  I  must  stay  here  till  father's  return,  but 
should  he  tarry  some  months,  I  might  contrive,  perhaps, 
to  come  and  spend  a  few  weeks  with  you.  If  I  should,, 
as  Mr.  S.  will  be  somewhere  in  your  vicinity,  probably, 
and  may  claim  me  as  an  acquaintance,  you  might  possibly 
have  an  opportunity  of  being  introduced  to  him — that  is, 
if  he  knew  that  I  was  there.  Now,  my  dear  girl,  I  must 
bid  you  good-bye,  with  the  charge — now  lift  up  your  hand 
and  swear — that  you  will  neither  show  this,  nor  breathe 
aught  of  its  contents  to  mortal  ear!  Remember!! 
Write  soon — adieu.  Jessy." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  You  shall  be  viceroys  here,  'tis  true, 
But  we'll  be  viceroys  over  you." 

**  Wait  not  till  things  grow  desperater, 
For  hanging  is  no  laughing  matter." 

A  few  miles  to  the  southward  of  the  encampment  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  before  described,  stood  the 
tenement  of  a  settler  whose  improvements  were  some, 
what  in  advance  of  the  rough  beginnings  of  those  who 
resided  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  And  the  owner  and 
occupant,  having  gained  that  point  of  comparative  thrift 
from  which  he  could  look  down  upon  his  less  fortunate 
neighbors,  had  lately  begun  to  manifest  an  ambition  to 
outshine  them  also  in  the  civil  distinctions  to  which  he 
believed  himself  now  entitled.  But  his  solicitude  for 
preferment  not  allowing  him  to  await  the  tardy  honors 
which  his  fellow-settlers  of  the  New  Hampshire  party 
might  be  inclined  to  bestow,  he  had  lately  turned  his 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  145 

longing  eye  to  other  dispensers  of  these  coveted  favors. 
And  the  prayer  of  his  heart,  being  secretly  made  known 
in  the  right  quarter,  was  soon  answered  in  the  shape  of 
an  offer  of  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  from  the 
government  of  New  York.  Though  aware  of  the  danger- 
ous nature  of  such  an  honor  to  an  inhabitant  of  the  Grants, 
yet  the  temptation,  which  was  now  set  before  him,  and 
which,  indeed,  he  had  indirectly  sought,  was  altogether 
too  great  to  be  resisted;  and,  in  an  evil  hour,  he  privately 
accepted  the  office,  in  defiance  of  a  decree  of  the  Conven- 
tion of  his  countrymen,  which  had  placed  the  acceptance 
of  such  an  office,  from  such  a  source,  by  a  settler,  high  in 
the  calendar  of  punishable  offences. 

To  the  tenement  of  this  aspiring  dignitary  we  will  now 
take  the  reader,  in  anticipation  of  other  visitors.  It  was 
the  next  morning  after  the  adventure  of  Warrington  and 
his  friend,  the  stout  stranger,  at  Captain  Hendee's ;  and 
the  dawning  light  was  just  beginning  to  appear  in  the 
dapple  east.  The  freshly  made  squire  was  already  awake, 
reflecting  with  peculiar  inward  satisfaction  on  the  honors 
of  his  new  station,  as  he  lay  beside  his  loving  rib  in  a 
small  bedroom  adjoining  the  kitchen.  He  had  only  the 
night  before  received  his  commission,  and  his  heart  was 
full  of  the  pleasing  subject.  He  not  only  dwelt  on  the 
present  consequence  which  the  office  would  confer,  but 
his  expanding  thoughts  began  to  stretch  forward  to  the 
future;  and  he  counted  over  the  probabilities  of  his  ad- 
vancing, on  a  stepping-stone  like  this,  to  much  higher 
distinctions  under  a  government,  which,  he  was  now 
ready  to  believe — nay,  secretly  to  wish — would  soon  exer- 
cise the  entire  control  in  the  settlement. 

"They  will  call  me  squire,  now,"  he  soliloquized,  half 
aloud,  "  and  once  squire,  always  squire ;  so  I  shall  get 
the  title,  let  what  will  come  of  it." 

"Come  of  what,  Mr.  Prouty  ?"  asked  his  helpmeet 
with  a  yawn,  awakening  just  in  time  to  catch  the  last 
part  of  the  sentence. 

"  Why !  why,  I  thought  you  was  asleep,  Polly.  Come 
of  what,  did  you  say  ?  Oh,  nothing  in  particular;  only 
I  have  been  thinking  over  things  a  little.  And  I'll  tell 
you  what  it  is — there  will  shortly  be  a  great  overturn  in 
this  settlement.  There  will,  you  may  depend  on't." 
10 


146  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

u  What,  the  Yorkers  get  the  upper  hand?" 

"  Sartaic  is  you  live,  Polly !  " 

"  Then  where  will  go  the  title  to  our  farm?  That  was 
what  you  was  talking  to  yourself  about,  wan't  it  now?" 

"  No,  it  wan't.  And  that  ain't  a  thing,  neither,  that 
troubles  me  a  mite." 

"Why  not?" 

"Because  the  office  I  have  just  got  under  the  York 
government  I  consider  amounts  to  a  security  against 
that.  And  if  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  will  let  me  aloue 
— but  I  don't  intend  they  shall  know  about  my  office  yet 
awhile." 

"  Yes,  but  what  good  will  it  do  you  to  be  a  justice,  it 
you  can't  be  squire?" 

"  Why,  what  does  the  woman  mean?" 

"I  mean  if  you  darsent  let  folks  know,  so  as  to  call 
you  squire." 

"  Oh,  I  can  do  some  business,  even  now,  among  the  York 
party,  without  much  danger.  And  it  won't  be  long  be- 
fore all  that  trouble  will.be  over;  for,  as  I  told  you, 
there  is  about  to  be  a  complete  overturn  here.  Thb 
Yorkers  are  preparing  to  come  on  with  a  strong  armed 
force.  Now  don't  say  anything  to  the  neighbors  about 
this,  Polly,  as  I  had  it  in  confidence  from  Mr.  Sherwood." 

"Oh,  did  you?  Well,  that  Mr.  Sherwood  is  a  complete 
gentleman—  how  perlite  he  is  !  Don't  you  think  so,  Mr. 
Prouty  ? ' 

"  Yes,  periite  enough,  forzino.  Well,  as  I  was  going 
to  say,  if  they  come  on,  Ethan  Allen,  Warrington,  and 
Member  Baker,  with  all  they  can  raise,  will  stand  no 
fag  at  all  with  a  regular  York  army.  And  all  who  stand 
out  then  will  be  indicted  and  informationed  against. 
There  will  be  plenty  of  warrants  called  for  about  those 
days,  you  may  depend  on't.  And  T,  being  the. .only  gov* 
ernment  justice  in  this  part  of  the  Grants,  shall  have  the 
making  of  them.  It  will  be  money  in  my  pocket,  I  tell 
you,  Polly.     And  then,  when— — " 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  will  then  feel  like  getting  me  a  new 
silk  gownd.  You  know,  Mr.  Prouty,  that  my  white 
dimoty  is  now  the  only  dress  that  I  have  fit  to  see  company 
in." 

"Ob,  fudge!" 


THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  147 

"  I  say  there  is  no  fudge  about  it,  now !  The  neigr* 
bors  call  us  rich,  and  still  it  is  a  solemn  fact,  Mr.  Prouty, 
and  I  don't  ca:»  who  knows  it,  that  you  dress  your  wifa 
a  great  deal  worse  than " 

"  Well,  well,  don't  bother  me  now ;  but  hear  what  I 
was  coming  at:  When  the  York  government  gets  well 
established  here,  as  it  will  be,  they  will  want  two  or 
three  judges  in  this  quarter,  I  guess,  and  I  being  the 
only  one  in  all  this  section,  that  had  courage  to  accept  the 
office  of  justice  of  peace,  shouldn't  you  think,  Polly,  they 
would  kind  o'  naturally  hit  on  me  for  one  of  them?" 

"  Why,  bless  me!  will  they?  So  they  will,  won't  they? 
And  then,  certainly,  Mr.  Prouty " 

"Hush!  hush!  I  hear  somebody  coming  up  to  the 
door.  Who  on  earth  can  they  be,  I  wonder,  that's  started 
out  so  early?" 

A  smart  rapping  now  being  heard  at  the  door,  Justice 
Prouty  leaped  from  his  bed,  seized  his — inexpressibles, 
modern  dandyism  would  term  them,  we  suppose,  but 
finding  no  authority  for  believing  our  fathers  made  use 
of  any  garment  the  appropriate  appellation  of  which  they 
considered  it  indecent  to  express,  we  will  venture  to  call 
things  by  their  right  names — seized  his  breeches,  hurried 
them  on,  together  with  the  other  parts  of  his  outward 
equipment,  and  emerged  into  the  kitchen,  after  having 
twice  gone  back,  at  his  wife's  hasty  and  imperious  call, 
to  close,  and  more  tightly  close,  the  door  behind  him. 
After  the  customary  "  walk  in,"  distinctly  pronounced  by 
the  Squire,  the  door  was  opened,  and  two  men  entered,  both 
unknown  to  the  former,  though  not  so  to  those  who  have 
followed  us  through  all  the  different  scenes  of  the  preced- 
ing pages.  For,  in  the  striking  altitude  of  one  of  the 
visitants,  which  compelled  the  civility  of  bowing  nolens, 
volens,  as  he  entered  the  door,  like  a  boy  coming  into  a 
country  school,  and  in  the  comical  leer  of  his  countenance, 
as  with  one  eye  he  seemed  to  be  measuring  the  affectedly 
dignified  person  of  his  host,  while  the  other  was  busily 
employed  in  taking  an  inventory  of  the  various  articles 
about  the  room  the  reader  will  find  no  difficulty  in  rec- 
ognizing our  jovial  friend,  Pete  Jones.  The  other,  whose 
dress  and  gentlemanly  bearing  formed  a  striking  contrast 
with  that  of  his  rustic  companion,  was  no  other  than 


148  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Selden,  who,  as  before  intimated,  having  arrived  the  pre 
vious  evening,  had  volunteered  with  the  former  to  make 
this  early  call  on  the  justice,  to  procure  his  immediate 
attendance  at  their  encampment  in  the  woods. 

"  Be  seated,  gentlemen,  pray  be  seated,"  said  the  Squire, 
bustling  about,  and  setting  chairs  for  his  guests  with  one 
hand,  and  finishing  the  buttoning  up  of  his  vest  with  the 
other,  "make  yourselves  comfortable — no  ceremony  here 
—just  turned  out,  you  see.  Called  on  business,  I  take  it, 
gentlemen?"  he  added,  meaning  official  business,  on 
which  his  mind  was  still  running,  and  the  wish,  in  this 
case,  as  often  happens,  proving  father  to  the  thought. 

"  We  have,  sir,"  answered  Selden,  bowing  with  well 
assumed  respect.  "You  are  a  justice  of  the  peace  we  are 
told?" 

"  Why,  as  to  that,  sir,"  replied  Prouty,  hesitating,  and 
glancing  with  a  doubtful  air,  alternately  at  Selden  and 
his  companion,  "  perhaps  I  may  have  heard — that  is,  I 
can't  sartainly  say,  but  I  have  heard  that  I  was  appointed 
to  the  office;  though  as  to  .accepting — You  are  of  the 
right  party,  I  trust,  gentlemen?" 

"  We  certainly  think  we  are,  at  least,  sir,"  rejoined  the 
former  gravely. 

"  That's  as  true  as  preaching,  Squire,"  said  Pete  :  "  for 
if  we  ain't  on  the  right  side,  I  would  give  my  old  jack- 
knife  to  know  who  are." 

"All  right,  I  presume,  gentlemen;  but  rather  ticklish 
times,  you  know — thought  it  no  hurt  to  be  a  little  partic- 
ular. But  what  business  did  you  want  done?  No  harm 
in  asking  that,  I  s'pose,  gentlemen?"  said  the  Squire, 
adding  the  last  question  by  way  of  opening  a  door  for  a 
retreat,  should  one  be  necessary. 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Selden,  "but  I  know  not  that  I  can 
state  precisely  the  nature  of  the  business  which  those, 
who  sent  us  for  you,  wish  done,  but  it  is  something,  I 
believe,  that  they  think  requires  your  presence." 

"O,  ho,  not  to  be  done  here,  then,  gentlemen?"  ob- 
served the  Squire,  a  little  doubtingly,  again. 

"No,  sir,  the  place  is  several  miles  from  here,  I  should 
think,"  responded  Selden  with  an  air  of  indifference. 

"Is  Mr.  Sherwood  there?"  asked  the  Squire,  rather 
anxiously. 


Til  E  GREEN  MOUN  l\ t IN  BOYS.  1 49 

"I  believe  not,  Squire,"  answered  Selden,  with  the  same 
Indifference,  "but  they  are  anxious  he  should  be,  and 
hope  he  will  come  before  closing  the  business." 

l-  I'll  swear  to  that,  Squire,"  said  Jones,  with  a  ludicrous 
sffort  to  keep  mischief  from  showing  itself  in  his  coun- 
tenance. 

"  Aye,  ail  right  then,  gentlemen,"  rejoined  the  Squire, 
still  stupidly  determined  to  understand  the  indefinite 
and  evasive  language  by  his  visitors,  in  the  way  that 
his  wishes  pointed.  "  But  I  thought  I  would  make  sure. 
You,  sir,"  he  continued,  addressing  Selden,  "I  thought 
from  the  first  glance  must  belong  to  the  right  party. 
This  other  gentleman,  here,  I  didn't  know  so  well  about, 
but  it  makes  no  difference  what  I  thought,  as  I  see  you 
agree.  I  will  attend  you,  gentlemen.  But  hadn't  we 
better  stop  and  get  some  breakfast  first?" 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Selden,  "  they  expressly  told  us  to 
come  on  immediately,  and  the  folks  would  have  a  good 
breakfast  prepared  for  us  all,  by  the  time  we  could  arrive 
there." 

Esquire  Prouty,  after  notifying  his  wife  of  his  intended 
absence,  now  signified  his  readiness  to  depart ;  when  all 
three  set  forward  towards  the  encampment  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  the  former  without  further  question,  or 
any  apparent  distrust,  putting  himself  under  the  guidance 
of  his  attendants.  And  wrapped  up  in  self-consequence, 
and  dreaming  only  of  the  important  figure  he  was  shortly 
to  make  in  the  first  exercise  of  his  new  vocation,  he  un- 
hesitatingly followed  his  guides,  as  with  rapid  steps  they 
silently  led  the  way,  sometimes  proceeding  in  the  road, 
sometimss  through  a  piece  of  woods,  and  sometimes 
through  open  fields.  At  length  they  reached  the  border 
of  the  dark,  continuous  forest,  within  which,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  a  half  mile,  was  the  encampment  to  which 
they  were  destined  ;  when  the  Squire,  now  for  the  first 
time  hesitating,  or  seeming  to  entertain  any  suspicion  that 
they  were  taking  him  to  a  less  agreeable  destination  than 
he  had  anticipated,  paused  in  his  steps,  and  threw  a  doubt- 
ful and  apprehensive  glance  around  him. 

"Never  mind,  Squire,"  cried  Jones,  who  having  with 
difficulty  restrained  himself  from  giving  vent,  in  some 
ghape  or  other,  to  the  secret  merriment  he  had  been  in- 


150  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

dulging  on  the  way,  at  the  Squire's  credulity  in  suffering 
himself  to  be  so  foolishly  lured  from  home,  thought  it 
would  now  do  to  begin  to  banter  the  obtuse  justice  a 
little,  "  never  mind,  Squire,  you  needn't  look  so  streaked 
— we  belong  to  the  right  party,  you  know." 

"Yes,  but  if  you  would  but  jest  inform  me,  gentle- 
men " — said  the  other  imploringly  and  with  visible  per- 
turbation— "only  jest  inform  me " 

"Oh,  push  ahead,  man!"  interrupted  Jones,  who,  pur* 
posely  dropping  in  the  rear,  now  urged  on  the  reluctant 
Squire  with  a  show  of  pettish  impatience,  as  if  detained 
by  excuses  too  frivolous  to  merit  a  reply,  "  push  ahead, 
my  stomach  is  getting  fairly  wolfish  for  that  breakfast. 
I'll  be  blessed  if  I  don't  almost  think  I  begin  to  smell  it 
at  this  distance ! " 

Somewhat  assured  by  the  other's  manner  of  treating 
his  scruples,  and,  though  not  quite  satisfied,  yet  feeling 
a  little  ashamed  of  his  fears,  the  Squire  now  passively 
suffered  himself  to  be  conducted  forward,  till,  reaching 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  turning  closely  round  a 
projecting  ledge  of  rocks,  he  suddenly,  and  to  his  utter 
dismay,  found"  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  sturdy 
men,  whom,  from  their  appearance,  he  at  once  knew  to 
be  a  band  of  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Instantly  compre- 
hending the  nature  of  their  business  with  him,  he  stopped 
short,  and  stood  confused,  and  trembling  in  mute  alarm 
before  them.  Nor  were  his  fears  at  all  diminished  by  the 
array  of  well  known  names,  which  his  conductor  the  next 
moment  announced  by  way  of  introduction,  the  ceremonies 
of  which  the  latter  now  commenced  performing  very 
formally  with  those  nearest  at  hand. 

"  Esquire  Prouty,  allow  me  to  present  you  to  Cap% 
tain  Remember  Baker,"  began  Selden,  pompously  waving 
his  hand  towards  a  keen-eyed,  determined-looking  man, 
who  stood  in  front  of  the  others. 

The  confused  Squire  nodded  his  head  mechanically,  but 
his  tongue  refused  to  do  its  office,  except  by  a  half  articu 
lated  "  Ilow'd  do,  sir,"  as  he  heard  the  name  of  one  of 
that  famous  trio,  who  had  so  long  been  the  terror  of  the 
New  York  authorities. 

"  Again,  Esquire  Prouty,  will  you  permit  me  the  pleas- 
ure of  presenting  you  to  Captain  Charles  Warrington?" 


TIIE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  151 

proceeded  Selden,  as  the  latter  advanced  to  favor  the 
introduction. 

"Warrington!"  gasped  the  Squires,  with  increased 
trepidation,  "  Warrington  too!" 

"And  yet  once  more,"  continued  the  imperturbable 
Lieutenant,  beckoning  to  our  Herculean  hero  of  the  shag 
coat,  who  figured  so  conspicuously  at  Captain  Hendee's, 
in  his  adventure  with  the  soldiers  the  night  previous,  and 
who  was  now  here  and  came  forward  at  the  intimation, 
"  once  more,  Esquire  Prouty,  shall  I  have  the  very  great 
honor  of  introducing  you  to  Colonel  Ethan  Allen?" 

"God  have  mercy  on  me!"  involuntarily  burst  from 
the  lips  of  the  affrighted  justice,  as  the  announcement  of 
the  last  name  capped  the  climax  of  his  terror  and  despair, 
"Oh,  God  have  mercy!     I  am  a  lost  man  I  " 

"Pooh!  you  cowardly  fool!"  exclaimed  Allen,  with  a 
look  of  mingled  pity  and  contempt,  "rouse  up,  and  bear 
it  like  a  man,  and  if  you  promise  no  more  to  betray  your 
injured  and  bleeding  country  by  becoming  the  tool  of 
tyrants,  it  shall  go  the  lighter  with  you.  At  all  events, 
you  need  not  fear  that  you  will  be  punished  to  the  extent 
of  half  your  deserts.  But  come,  hoys,  set  on  the  break- 
fast, it  might  be  hazardous  to  our  prisoners,  the  Squire 
and  surveyor  here,  to  proceed  with  them,  with  the  in- 
ward man  in  so  ravenous  a  plight;  for  Hunger  and  Mercy 
never  got  near  enough  to  each  other  to  shake  hands  since 
the  fall  of  Adam.  And  even  the  awards  of  Justice  her- 
self might  he  of  questionable  rectitude,  if  made  under  the 
irritations  of  an  empty  stomach." 

The  breakfast,  which  consisted  of  a  plentiful  supply  of 
roasted  venison,  partridges,  and  other  small  game,  with 
such  trimmings  as  the  settlers  living  near,  and  in  the 
secret  ot  tne  encampment,  had  sent  in,  was  served  up 
on  a  rude  kind  of  platform,  composed  of  smooth  white 
pieces  cleft  from  the  freely  rifting  basswood,  and  sup- 
ported on  cross-pieces,  laid  upon  forked  stakes,  or  crotches, 
as  they  are  usually  denominated  in  the  woodman's  phrase. 
Around  this  temporary  table,  benches  of  an  equally  rude 
construction  were  placed  sufficient  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  all  the  company,  including  the  prisoners,  now 
consisting  of  the  Squire,  the  surveyor,  and  his  assistant, 
all  of  whom  were  respectfully  shown  places  at  the  table. 


152  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

The  meal  was  generally  partaken  in  silence,  the  officers 
seeming  to  fear  that  too  much  sociability  might  have  a 
tendency  to  unnerve  them  for  the  task  on  hand,  and  the 
men  respectfully  followed  the  example  of  their  superiors, 
with  the  exception  of  Pete  Jones,  who  could  not  forbear 
occasionally  throwing  a,  sly  joke  at  the  chop-fallen  Squire. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  for  business,"  said  Allen,  rising  from 
the  table  the  moment  their  meal  was  finished,  as  omi- 
nously knitting  his  dark,  heavy  brows,  he  pulled  from  his 
pocket,  and  in  a  loud  commanding  voice,  commenced 
reading  a  decree  of  the  Convention,  forbidding  '■'•Each 
mid  all  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  Hamp shire  Grants, 
to  hold,  take,  or  accept,  any  office  of  honor  or  profit  under 
the  colony  of  New  TorTen— and  requiring  "All  officers, 
and  others,  acting  under  the  Governor  or  Legislature  of 
that  province,  to  suspend  their  functions  on  pain  of  being 
viewed.''''  He  then  produced  a  letter  from  a  secret  agent 
of  the  settlers  at  Albany,  giving  the  date  of  Prouty's  com- 
mission, and  enclosing  a  letter  from  the  Squire  himself, 
accepting  the  office  in  question.  lie  also  read  a  copy  of  a 
notice  sent  some  weeks  previous  to  the  surveyor,  warning 
him  to  quit  the  Grants  without  delay. 

"And  now  what  have  ye  to  say?"  sternly  demanded 
Allen,  turning  to  the  prisoners  as  soon  as  he  had  finished 
reading  the  documents  :  "  What  have  ye  to  say,  ye  min- 
ions of  York,  why  ye  should  not  be  viewed,  to  the  full 
extent  and  meaning  of  the  decree,  made  and  provided  for 
the  like  of  ye?" 

Quailing  under  the  withering  gaze  of  Allen,  the  jus- 
tice could  not  muster  courage  to  lift  his  head,  or  utter  a 
single  word  in  reply.  But  the  surveyor,  who  was  a  man 
of  more  firmness,  and  bore  himself  quite  collectedly  on 
the  occasion,  attempted  an  argument  with  the  leader  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  denying  all  right  of  the  settlers 
to  arrest  him,  protesting  against  being  tried  by  any  but 
a  court  acting  under  the  authority  of  New  York,  and 
appealing  to  that  authority  for  his  justification. 

"  The  authority  of  New  York ! "  scornfully  exclaimed 
the  other,  "  appeal  to  the  authority  of  New  York !  Why 
not  appeal  at  once  to  the  chancery  of  hell,  the  fountain- 
head  of  that  stream  of  corruption  which  comes  to  us  under 
the  name  of  New  York  law  and  justice  ?    We,  sir,  we, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  lf>3 

the  poor  and  insufferably  abused  settlers  of  these  Grants, 
have  often  appealed  to  that  source  of  justice— appealed 
for  protection  against  the  lawless  aggressions  of  your  cor- 
morant speculators,  who  have  attempted  to  wrest  from 
us  our  rightful  possessions,  to  seize,  with  the  grasp  of 
plunderers,  our  hard-earned  pittances,  and  turn  us  out, 
houseless  and  destitute,  into  the  wilderness.  But  we 
have  appealed  in  vain,  and  only  to  learn  our  own  folly  in 
expecting  that  sin  would  ever  be  rebuked  by  Satan.  No, 
sir,  we  will  suffer  no  such  appeal,  but  will  ourselves  give 
you  a  conclusive  judgment  in  the  premises  ;  and  such  a 
one,  too,  as  shall  give  you  the  wages  of  your  iniquities. 
What  say  you,  my  merry  mountaineers?" 

As  soon  as  the  hearty,  but  variously  expressed  re- 
sponses, by  which  the  men  testified  their  approbation  of 
the  remarks  of  their  leader,  were  over,  Baker,  Warring- 
ton, and  Selden,  who,  during  the  discussion,  had  been  en- 
gaged in  a  low  conversation  apart  from  the  rest,  beckoned 
Allen  to  approach  them.  The  latter,  obeying  the  intima- 
tion, advanced,  and,  after  listening  attentively  awhile  to 
some  proposal  or  plan,  which  the  others  appeared  to  be 
imparting  to  him,  snapped  his  fingers  with  delight,  and 
exclaimed  : 

"Capital!  capital,  by  Jupiter!"  he  repeated,  bringing 
down  his  huge  palm  upon  the  snugly  fitting  buckskin, 
covering  his  broad  thigh,  with  a  slap  that  echoed  through 
the  woods  like  the  report  of  a  pistol.  "  '.Member,  you 
shall  announce  it  to  them,  and  I  will  see  that  it  is  carried 
into  execution." 

Baker  accordingly  stepped  forward  and  addressing  the 
surveyor,  gravely  informed  him,  that  it  had  been  deter- 
mined to  accede  to  the  wish  he  had  expressed,  of  being 
tried,  if  he  was  to  be  tried  at  all,  by  a  court  of  his  own 
colony.  And  that  Justice  Prouty,  who  had  lately  been 
commissioned  by  the  government  of  New  York,  would 
therefore  now  immediately  proceed  with  the  trial. 

"  Oh,  gentleman,  oh,  sir !  "  began  Prouty,  beseechingly, 
as  Allen  now  came  forward  to  attend  to  the  part  he  had 
proposed  to  assume  in  the  business. 

"  Now  don't,  Justice  Prouty,"  interrupted  Selden,  with 
provoking  irony,  "  don't,  I  beg  of  you,  suffer  your  diffi- 
dence to  deorive  us  of  the  aid   of  your  acknowledged 


154  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  £0F| 

abilities  in  this  important  case.  Having  had  the  honor  of 
introducing  you  to  this  company,  I  am  very  anxious  that 
you  should  acquit  yourself  creditably  on  the  occasion." 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  then  my  situation  " — again  began  to 
expostulate  the  troubled  justice. 

"  Come,  your  worship,"  interrupted  Allen,  with  a  spice 
of  the  comic  mingled  with  the  determined  expression  of 
his  countenance,  "  you  are  to  try,  and  to  sentence  this 
York  interloper,  and  no  two  ways  about  it,  neither,  I  will 
swear  to  you.  There  !  "  he  continued,  seizing  the  reluc- 
tant and  trembling  Squire,  with  one  hand  grasping  the 
seat  of  his  breeches,  and  the  other  his  collar,  and  lifting 
and  placing  him  on  the  side  of  the  platform,  with  the 
apparent  ease  of  one  handling  an  infant:  "There!  sit 
on  the  edge  of  this  table,  for  a  King's  Bench.  You  did 
not  think  to  arrive  to  that  honor  so  soon,  did  you, 
Squire?" 

"  Now,  Squire,"  said  Peter  Jones,  with  one  of  his  mis- 
chievous looks,  "May  I  be  eternally  happy,  if  I  don't 
think  you  a  considerable  dabster  of  a  prophet!  Don't 
you  see  how  cute  it  is  all  coming  to  pass  what  you  told 
your  old  woman  this  morning  about  your  getting  to  be 
a  judge  soon  ?  Though  I  must  ax  your  pardon,  Squire, 
for  listening  under  your  bedroom  window  a  little,  before 
we  rapped  to  come  in." 

"Well,  is  the  court  ready  to  proceed?"  said  Allen, 
"  Now  for  my  opening,  as  the  lawyers  say — I  am  for  the 
prosecution,  i*ecollect." 

"Now  I  do  protest — I  beseech  you,  sir," — once  more 
began  to  stammer  the  confused  and  dreadfully  perplexed 
justice. 

"Shut  up,  sir!"  fiercely  exclaimed  Allen.  "Hell  and 
Furies !  who  ever  heard  of  a  court  before  so  despotic  as 
uO  refuse  to  hear  the  statements  of  counsel?  No,  no, 
Mr.  Court,  that  will  never  do,  so  now  hear  me." 

The  Squire,  thus  awed  into  silence,  hung  his  head,  and 
sat  as  still  as  his  agitation  would  permit,  while  the  other 
produced,  and  again  read  the  documents  by  which  he 
had  first  introduced  the  subject  ;  and,  after  briefly 
summing  up  the  evidence,  demanded  that  a  sentence 
be  imposed  upon  the  surveyor  o*  forty  lashes  of  the  beech 
rocL 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  155 

«I  dispute  the  authority  of  your  pretended  Conven 
tion,  and  I  protest  against  the  whole  of  these  proceedings 
as  illegal  and  riotous,"  exclaimed  the  surveyor,  with  con- 
siderable spirit. 

"Well,  very  well,  sir,"  said  Allen,  with  the  utmost 
composure;  "you  have  had  your  say,  and  made  your 
defence,  as  you  had  an  undoubted  right  to  do.  I  am 
al ways  for  liberty  of  speech  when  a  man  has  really  any- 
thing to  say,  and  also  for  allowing  a  fair  hearing  in  all 
cases,  though  that  is  more  than  your  infernal  York  tri- 
bunals will  permit,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  But  let  us 
now  attend  to  the  decision  of  the  court.  Boys,  you  may 
as  well  be  getting  a  brace  of  genteel  beech-sealers  ;  for  I 
feel  very  confident  of  a  decision  in  my  favor.  Now,  Mr. 
Justice,  proceed  with  your  sentence.  Forty  stripes,  with 
a  green  beech  rod,  is  all  I  claim,  recollect — quite  moder- 
ate, certainly ;  but  it  is  always  best  to  lean  towards  the 
side  of  mercy.     Proceed,  sir!" 

"Anything  else,  gentlemen,"  groaned  the  distressed 
Squire,  M  I  will  do  any  thing  else  you  say.  But  this,  now, 
I  cannot,  and  dare  not  do." 

"  Hark'ee,  Mr.  Court,"  rejoined  the  other,  placing  his 
arms  akimbo,  and  looking  at  the  justice  with  the  air  of 
one  resolved  to  have  no  more  words  on  the  subject,  "a 
sentence  out  of  you  I  will  have,  as  sure  as  the  devil 
delays  his  coming  for  your  soul  long  enough  for  you  to 
pronounce  it.  Will  you  proceed,  sir?  No  answer,  eh? 
Well,  we  will  soon  see  whether  Ethan  Allen  has  got  to 
eat  his  own  words  or  not.  Jones,  bring  me  that  sur- 
veyor's chain  in  the  camp,  there.1' 

Allen,  taking  out  his  pocket-handkerchief,  very  de- 
liberately made  a  slip  noose,  and  adjusted  it  round  the 
neck  of  the  trembling  Squire.  He  next  carefully  tied  the 
tail  of  this  noose  to  one  end  of  the  chain,  throwing  the 
other  end,  at  the  same  time,  over  the  large  limb  of  a 
tree,  which  projected  directly  over  their  heads,  at  the 
weight  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground. 

"There,  Jones,  catch  that  end,  and  just  straighten  her 
out  a  little,"  he  cbs-?i ved,  with  a  cool,  business-like  air; 
"  I  have  heard  s?r*  tnat  hrnging  was  intended  to  bring 
about  justice.  Let  us  see  if  a  little  of  it  won't  have  that 
effect  in  the  present  instance." 


156  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Obeying  with  mischievous  alacrity,  Pete,  now  running 
the  chain  rapidly  over  the  limb,  brought  it  up  just  "  taut 
enough,"  to  use  a  sea-phrase,  to  make  the  noose  sensibly 
felt  by  the  Squire;  upon  which  the  latter,  staring  and 
glaring  wildly  around,  as  a  slight  sense  of  suffocation 
came  over  him,  leaped  upon  his  feet,  and  stood  upright. 
This  shift,  however,  afforded  him  but  a  momentary  relief. 
For  Jones,  quickly  followed  up  the  movement,  straighten- 
ing the  chain  with  a  jerk  that  brought  the  victim  on  to 
his  toes;  in  which  position,  grappling  the  chain  above 
his  head  with  both  hands,  and  begging,  like  a  half- whipped 
schoolboy,  for  mercy,  he  was  suffered  to  remain  a  mo- 
ment, to  give  him  one  more  opportunity  of  complying 
with  the  requisition  which  had  been  made  upon  him. 

"  Your  last  chance  of  salvation  !  "  exclaimed  the  leader, 
in  a  tone  that  testified  his  growing  impatience  at  the 
man's  obstinacy.  "  You  will  comply  in  one  moment  more, 
or,  by  the  horned  Lucifer,  the  next  shall  find  you  dan- 
gling within  a  yard  of  yonder  limb!  " 

"Now  I  would,  gentlemen^  sartainly  would  if" — again 
began  to  splutter  the  struggling,  though  yet  unconquered 
Squire. 

"  String  him  up,  Jones !  "  cried  Allen,  with  startling 
energy.  #      m 

The  next  instant  the  body  of  the  poor  justice  was  spin- 
ning round  on  one  toe,  with  the  tip  of  which  he  was 
barely  able  to  touch  the  platform. 

"  Oh  !  I'm  choking  ! "  screeched  the  now  really  suffer- 
ing  wretch,  "  Oh  !  ugh  !  ugh  !  ugh  I  I  will — will — I'll 
do  it ! " 

"  Ease  away  there,  Jones  !  "  said  Allen,  "  he  h?^  come 
to  his  senses  at  last,  and  I  think  there  will  be  no  further 
trouble  ;  so  you  may  give  him  full  play  now." 

After  being  again  questioned  as  to  the  reality  of  his 
intentions  to  proceed  with  the  required  task,  the  subdued 
Squire  was  let  fully  down,  and  permitted  to  stand  at  ease 
on  the  platform ;  when,  as  soon  as  he  had  recovered  his 
breath  and  composure  sufficiently  to  allow  him  to  speak, 
he  mumbled  off  the  sentence,  which  he  had  run  such 
risks  to  avoid  pronouncing. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Court,"  said  Allen,  with  a  slightly  roguish 
curl  of  the  lip,  "  as  you  have  been  brought  to  a  sense  oi 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  15^ 

your  duty,  and  given  the  sentence  which  justice  required 
of  you,  it  is  no  doubt  incumbent  on  you,  sir,  to  see  it  ex- 
ecuted. And,  as  all  my  men  here  stand  sworn  never  to 
execute  any  sentence  of  a  York  magistrate,  it  follows,  of 
course,  that  you  must  be  the  executioner  yourself,  in  the 
present  case ;  so  now  dismount,  sir,  if  you  please,  take 
this  rod,  and,  after  1  have  unnoosed  you  of  this  marvel- 
lous prompter  of  justice,"  he  continued,  taking  off  the 
noose,  and  placing  a  beechen  rod  in  the  hands  of  the 
other,  "you  will  proceed  to  apply  it  in  a  way  that  shall 
show  the  sincerity  of  what  you  have  just  said  and  done. 
Boys,  you  may  now  take  off  the  surveyor's  coat,  and  then 
form  a  ring,  with  a  few  switches  in  your  hands,  if  you 
will,  to  see  that  justice  is  duly  administered  on  the  occa- 
sion. There,  that  will  do.  Well,  Squire,  we  are  now 
ready  to  proceed — what !  hesitating  again !  Jones,  seize 
the  end  of  that  chain,  there,  and  be  ready,  while  I  replace 
the  noose." 

But  Prouty,  having  had  quite  as  many  of  such  prompt- 
ings as  he  felt  willing  to  receive,  did  not  wait  to  be  noosed 
again,  but  lifting  the  rod,  moved  forward,  as  if  ready  to 
perform  the  required  task,  without  further  resistance. 
Allen  then  advanced  and  threw  another  rod  down  at  the 
feet  of  the  surveyor,  gravely  observing — 

"There,  Mr.  Surveyor,  supposing  from  what  you  have 
thrown  out  here,  that  you  think  the  court  have  sentenced 
you  unjustly,  we  have  concluded  that,  while  he  is  exe- 
cuting the  sentence  on  you,  we  will  give  you  a  chance 
to  avenge  the  injury.  You  have  therefore  our  free  and 
full  permission  to  return  blow  for  blow  through  the  whole 
of  it.  Indeed,  sir,  I  should  rather  advise  you  to  doit; 
for  our  boys  here,  who  are  great  sticklers  for  fair  play, 
may  take  it  into  their  heads,  perhaps,  to  say  that  it  would 
be  unjust  for  one  Yorker  to  receive  all  the  honors  of  the 
day,  without  imparting  an  equitable  share  to  his  fellow. 
And  in  case  you  should  neglect  to  do  what  they  think  is 
about  right,  I  know  not  what  may  happen  to  you.  And 
now,  Mr.  Justice,"  he  continued,  turning  sternly  to  Prouty, 
"  Xow,  Mr.  Justice,  be  lively,  and  with  the  fear  of  God 
and  Ethan  Allen  before  your  eyes,  lay  on,  sir  ! " 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  anything  more 
strangely  ludicrous,  than  the  scene  that  followed.    The 


158  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY8. 

reluctant  Squire,  daring  no  longer  to  delay,  now  gave 
two  or  three  faint  and  harmless  blows  across  the  ieos  of 
the  surveyor;  when  he  was  admonished  by  Allen,  in  a 
tone  which  experience  had  taught  him  pretty  well  how 
to  interpret,  to  lay  on  more  seriously.  Spurred  up  by 
his  fears,  the  justice  then  began  to  administer  the  appli- 
cation of  his  rod  with  about  that  medium  degree  of  vio- 
lence, which,  producing  all  the  smart  of  heavier  blows 
without  the  benumbing  antidote  of  bruising,  is  always 
far  more  irritating,  and  is  generally,  perhaps,  even  mor8 
intensely  painful  to  the  victim  than  blows  of  double  the 
severity.  At  all  events,  the  Squire's  applications  soon 
produced  a  very  visible  effect  on  the  surveyor,  who,  till 
this  stage  of  the  business,  had  stood  eyeing  the  proceed- 
ings in  dogged  silence.  Rut  now  leaping  about,  and  being 
no  longer  able  to  stand  the  pain  which  the  Squire's  appli- 
cations began  to  impart,  he  hastily  caught  up  the  rod  at 
his  feet,  and,  swearing  with  spiteful  bitterness,  that  he 
would  put  it  on,  to  punish  the  other  for  suffering  himself 
to  become  the  tool  of  a  mob,  gave  back  the  blows  with  so 
much  interest  that  it  soon  roused  in  turn  the  ire  of  the 
justice,  who,  now  beginning  to  dance  to  the  same  tune, 
and  from  the  same  cause  which  had  put  his  opponent  in 
motion,  fell  to,  and  laid  on  in  good  earnest.  Becoming 
thus  mutually  incensed,  and  the  anger  of  each  rapidly 
kindling  at  the  increased  pain  of  his  adversary's  applica- 
tions, every  blow  of  the  one  was  followed  by  a  heavier 
blow  from  the  other.  And,  the  blows  falling  heavier  and 
thicker  every  instant,  it  soon  grew  into  one  of  the  most 
severe  and  furious  flagellations  ever  witnessed  in  the  set- 
tlement, and  one  that  was  amply  satisfactory  to  our  band 
of  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who  stood  by,  sending  forth 
shout  after  shout,  and  peal  after  peal  of  laughter,  that 
fairly  shook  the  slumbering  wilderness  with  the  deafen- 
ing reverberations.  And  so  deeply  engaged  had  become 
these  accustomed  dignitaries  in  administering  to  each 
other  this  whimsically  conceived  and  queerly  conducted 
punishment,  that  it  was  not  till  they  had  exceeded  the 
prescribed  number  of  stripes  by  nearly  a  dozen,  that 
either  of  them  thought  of  yielding.  Prouty,  however, 
being  of  a  less  obstinate  disposition,  and  possessing  less 
nerve  than  the  other,  at  length  gave  over,  and  cried  lustily 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  159 

tor  quarter,  which,  even  then,  so  implacable  had  the  sur 
veyor  become,  was  only  granted  him  on  the  interposition 
of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

"Well,  Squire,"  said  Jones,  the  only  man  who  seemed 
disposed  to  make  any  comments  at  the  close  of  this  curi- 
ous scene,  "  don't  you  think  these  Yorkers  most  cruel, 
bloody  fellows  ?  Ah !  jest  as  I  told  you,  Squire,  we  be. 
long  to  the  right  party. 

The  business  of  the  morning  having  been  thus  brought 
to  a  close,  Justice  Prouty,  with  an  admonition  to  go  and 
learn  wisdom  from  folly,  was  released  and  sent  home. 
The  surveyor's  instruments  were  next  broken  to  pieces 
by  Allen,  and  the  fragments  hurled  into  the  bushes.  The 
surveyor  himself,  with  his  assistant,  who  had  not  been 
considered  of  public  consequence  enough  to  be  punished, 
was  then  put  in  charge  of  Jones  and  Brown,  who  were 
ordered  to  escort  them  to  the  New  York  line,  and  there 
leave  them. 

Within  half  an  hour  from  the  departure  of  the  prisoners, 
the  encampment  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  under  Snake 
Mountain  was  broken  up,  an  I  thQ  place  ueserted,  the  dif- 
ferent individuals  composing  the  land,  after  a  brief  con- 
sultation, having  been  dispatcher  Wy  their  enterprising 
and  impetuous  leader,  in  various  directions,  on  secret 
business  connected  Avith  the  important  events  which  were 
in  train,  and  the  new  and  untried  scenes  which  were  now 
soon  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

14  Strong  hands  in  harvest,  daring  feet  in  chase, 
True  hearts  in  fight  were  gathered  in  that  place 
Of  secret  council." 

If  there  is  a  town  in  Vermont  whose  first  set  of  inhabit- 
ants deserved  the  appellation  of  high-minded  and  worthyt 
it  was  the  early  settlers  of  Middlebury.  Distinguished, 
from  their  first  pitch  on  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Otter, 
for  enterprise,  firmness  and  intelligence,  they  were  among 
the  foremost  to  resist  the  aggressions  of  a  government, 
which,  unwittingly,  perhaps,  had  lent  itself  to  aid  the  un- 
principled schemes  of  a  few  rapacious  land  speculators; 


160  THE  QUEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

while  the  opening  scenes  of  our  Revolution  found  them 
ready  to  engage,  with  the  same  alacrity,  and  with  the  best 
of  their  means  in  the  greater  work  of  achieving  the  in- 
dependence  of  their  whole  country.  And  scarcely  had  the 
storm  of  war  passed  over,  and  the  sunlight  of  peace  began 
to  break  in  on  their  infant  settlement,  before  they  united, 
with  a  zeal  as  extraordinary,  considering  their  circum- 
stances and  means,  as  it  was  commendable,  in  rearing,  by 
private  munificence  alone,  a  collegiate  institution  which 
for  many  succeeding  years  did  more,  probably,  towards 
elevating  the  moral  and  literary  character  of  Vermont, 
than  any  one  cause  operating  within  her  borders.  And 
her  alumni,  now  many  of  them  in  eminence  at  the  bar, 
and  in  the  pulpit,  and  found  gracing  not  only  every  station 
in  their  own  favored  country,  from  the  humble  school 
room  to  the  senate  chamber  of  the  nation,  but  nobly  dis- 
pensing her  light  among  the  people  of  every  clime  upon 
the  face  of  the  broad  earth,  whither,  in  the  fearless  and 
enterprising  spirit  of  their  fathers,  they  have  scattered 
themselves^— now  to  teach  the  arts  to  the  boorish  Russ, 
or  besotted  Turk,  now  to  as'sist  the  enslaved  Greek,  or 
South  American,  in  his  struggles  for  freedom,  and  now  to 
rear  the  standard  of  the  Cross  among  the  degraded  pagans 
of  the  East — her  grateful  alumni,  often,  often  turn  back, 
in  fancy,  to  their  beloved  Alma  Mater, 

"  To  linger  delighted  o'er  scenes  recalled  there," 

and  admire,  and  bless  the  noble  and  self-sacrificing  spirit 
of  Painter,  Chipman,  Storrs,  and  others  of  her  munificent 
founders,  who  made  themselves  poor  in  pecuniary  estate, 
that  the  children  of  their  country  might  become  rich  in 
knowledge. 

With  these  remarks,  suggested  by  the  location  of  the 
scene  about  to  be  described,  and  their  expression  here 
prompted  by  the  personal  interest  which  the  writer  of 
these  unworthy  pages  must  ever  feel  in  that  institution, 
in  which  he  was  taught  at  once  his  weakness  and  his 
strength,  and  to  which  he  is  mainly  indebted  for  the 
schooling  and  chastening  of  a  wild  and  untutored  imagi- 
nation, and  for  the  formation  of  whatever  mental  char- 
acter he  may  possess ;  with  these  remarks,  we  say,  let  us 
now  proceed  in  the  narration  of  our  story. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  161 

Could  one  of  the  fabled  scenes  drawn  by  the  immortal 
Homer  have  been  so  far  realized,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1775, 
that  Mars,  the  supposed  supervisor  of  every  military 
enterprise,  had  sat  in  his  cloud-begirt  chariot  over  that 
tract  of  country  lying  between  Lake  Champlain  and  the 
Green  Mountains,  to  take  note  of  whatever  in  his  line  of 
business  might  be  on  foot  below,  he  might  have  perceived, 
on  looking  down  from  his  lofty  car,  near  the  close  of  that 
Jay,  movements  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  particular 
section  just  named,  so  simultaneous,  and  yet  so  appar- 
ently unconcerted,  that  even  his  godship,  himself,  unless 
previously  in  the  secret,  would  have  been  sadly  puzzled 
to  decide  in  what  manner  to  account  for  them.  Nearly 
every  man  could  have  been  seen  leaving  his  home  for  some 
point  not  far  to  the  south  of  those  falls  on  Otter  Creek, 
around  which  the  flourishing  village  of  Middlebury  now 
stands.  Though  all  would  have  seemed  gradually  cen- 
tering to  this  spot,  yet  this  would  have  been  the  only 
point  of  agreement  discoverable  in  their  movements,  or 
apparent  objects. — Some  carried  axes  on  their  shoulders, 
some  hoes,  or  other  implements  of  husbandry,  and  some 
had  guns,  with  which  they  appeared  to  be  amusing  them- 
selves, as  they  passed  along,  by  shooting  squirrels,  or 
whatever  small  game  might  fall  in  their  way.  And,  in 
no  instance,  were  two  men  seen  travelling  together;  and, 
if  by  chance  any  two  happened  to  come  across  each  other, 
they  immediately  separated,  one  stopping  till  the  other 
had  passed  out  of  sight,  or  both  diverging  into  different, 
though  parallel  routes.  The  exact  point  of  their  concen- 
tration was  at  length  seen  to  be  an  opening  in  the  wilder- 
ness, on  a  gentle  swell  of  land,  commanding  a  view  of  the 
devious  Otter  from  its  western  side.  Xear  the  centre  of 
this  opening  stood  a  log-house  tenanted  by  a  hardy  and 
enterprising  settler,  a  confidential  friend  of  the  master 
spirit  of  this  clandestine  gathering.  A  barn  also  of  the 
<?arne  construction,  and  of  dimensions  ample  enough  to 
hold  half  a  regiment  within  its  walls,  was  standing  some 
rods  in  the  rear  of  the  house.  This  huge  fabric,  as  it 
finally  appeared,  had  been  selected,  both  on  account  of 
its  size,  and  the  central  position  which  it  occupied  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Grants,  for  the  approaching  meeting 
of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.      And  as  the  shades  of 

IX 


162  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

evening  began  to  gather  over  the  wilderness,  and  indi- 
vidual objects  grew  indistinct  to  the  view,  many  a  dark 
form  might,  be  discovered  emerging,  one  by  one,  from 
every  point  of  the  surrounding  woods  and  stealthily  tak- 
ing their  way  in  silence  towards  the  building  appointed 
for  their  rendezvous. 

But  leaving  this  company  to  finish  their  noiseless  gath- 
ering, we  will  now  recur  to  note  the  adventures  of  one  of 
our  heroes  on  his  way  to  the  scene  of  action.  We  speak 
in  the  plural  here,  as  we  do  not  pretend  to  fix  on  any  one 
of  the  several  leading  personages  of  our  story  as  the  par- 
ticular hero  of  the  work. — But  should  the  reader  deem 
such  a  cne  to  be  essential  in  the  performance,  we  leave 
him  to  make  his  own  selection  from  all  the  characters  we 
have  introduced — a  privilege  to  the  reader,  which,  we 
trust,  will  prevent  any  question  in  his  mind  whether  the 
author  himself  has  selected  the  one  for  this  honor  who  is 
the  most  worthy  of  the  appellation:  and  a  privilege  too, 
that  we  the  more  freely  accord,  since  we  have  often 
wished  for  the  same  favor  ourselves,  while  reading  works 
of  this  kind,  and  bored  with  the  everlasting  recurrence 
of  "our  hero,"  applied,  not  unfrequently,  to  the  worst 
drawn,  and  by  far  the  most  spiritless  character  in  the 
book. 

After  the  separation  of  our  band  in  the  morning,  the 
leaders,  as  before  intimated,  were  actively  engaged  through 
a  good  part  of  the  day  in  calling  upon  settlers  to  sound 
their  views  and  feelings  in  regard  to  the  approaching 
struggle  between  the  colonies  and  mother  country,  and 
to  apprise  them,  if  found  right  in  sentiments,  and  ripe 
for  action,  as  was  generally  the  case,  of  the  contemplated 
meeting,  and  the  precautions  deemed  important  to  be 
observed  in  conducting  it. 

Warrington,  having  performed  the  task  allotted  to  him 
as  his  share  of  the  delicate,  and  sometimes  difficult  duty, 
set  out,  late  in  the  afternoon,  for  the  appointed  rendez- 
vous of  the  evening.  After  leaving  the  vicinity  of  the 
lake,  to  the  borders  of  which  his  duties  had  been  princi- 
pally confined,  he  soon  entered  the  woods,  and  having 
decided  on  the  course  to  be  taken,  proceeded  onward  with 
a  rapid  step  several  miles  towards  his  destination  with- 
out  pausing.      But    at    length    feeling    somewhat   wearied 


THE   GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  163 

with  the  exertions  of  the  day,  he  sat  down  to  rest  him, 
for  a  few  moments,  on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  and  was 
dreamily  running  over  in  his  mind  the  singular  events  of 
the  past  few  days,  when  his  attention  was  arrested  by  a 
clicking  sound,  resembling  that  which  attends  the  cocking 
of  a  musket.  While  looking  around  him  in  doubt  wheth- 
er his  senses  had  not  deceived  him,  in  respect  to  the  im- 
pression they  conveyed  of  the  sound,  he  distinctly  heard, 
the  snapping  of  a  firelock  in  a  thicket  at  no  gra.t  dis- 
tance from  the  spot  he  occupied.  Springing  upon  his 
feet,  he  brought  his  own  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and,  step- 
ping behind  a  tree,  awaited  in  silence  the  result,  which, 
he  supposed,  whatever  the  cause  of  the  movement,  would 
soon  be  disclosed.  But  hearing  nothing  further,  and  con- 
cluding that  the  sound  came  from  some  hunter,  who,  hav- 
ing gained  sight  of  game,  and  snapping  his  piece  at  it, 
xiad  noiselessly  crept  off  after  it  in  another  direction,  he 
thought  but  little  more  on  the  subject  at  this  time,  and 
soon  leisurely  proceeded  on  his  way  The  walk  of  half 
a  mile  now  brought  him  to  that  dead  and  desolate  stream, 
whose  name,  at  the  present  day,  "  Lemon  Fair,"  has  so 
often  proved  a  puzzler  to  the  stranger  traversing  this 
section  of  the  country,  and  led  him  to  ask  the  cause  of 
so  singular  an  appellation.  The  explanation  that  follows, 
however,  reconciles  the  apparent  incongruity  in  a  way  as 
simple  and  curious  as  it  is  generally  unexpected.  And 
the  inquirer  is  soon  enabled  to  trace  this  before  unac- 
countable name,  from  "  Lemon  Fair,"  through  "  Lamen 
Fair,"  to  the  lamentable  affair!  which  is  said  to  have 
burst  from  the  agonized  bosom  of  a  traveller,  who  once, 
in  attempting  to  ford  the  stream,  was  doomed  to  the  pain 
of  witnessing  his  noble  steed  become  inextricably  mired, 
and,  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  at  every  effort  to  clear 
himself,  finally  disappear  with  fearful  death-struggles,  in 
the  bottomless  quags  of  this  Styx  of  Vermontane  rivers. 
Warrington  here  paused  to  note  the  air  of  peculiar  dreari- 
ness and  gloom,  which  even  at  this  day,  seems  to  brood 
over  this  paradise  of  eels  and  owls — the  former  finding 
their  Elysium  in  the  stagnant,  muddy  and  root-tangled 
pools  of  the  stream,  and  the  latter  on  the  decayed  limbs 
of  the  long  colonnade  of  dead  and  leafless  trees  lining  the 
banks,  where  they  sit  moping  and  gloating  over  their  in. 


164  THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  DOTS. 

exhaustible  storehouse  of  countless  reptiles  swarming  in 
the  dark  and  turbid  waters  beneath.  And  while  standing 
upon  the  banks  of  this  stream,  with  his  mind  thus  en- 
grossed, he  was  startled  by  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle, 
bursting  from  a  fallen  tree-top  on  a  knoll  at  the  distance 
of  some  eight  or  ten  rods  behind  him  ;  while  at  the  same 
instant,  a  bullet,  passing  through  his  coat  between  his 
arm  and  body,  struck  and  buried  itself  on  the  dry  and 
barkless  surface  of  a  tree,  standing  a  few  yards  before 
him.  Whirling  suddenly  round  towards  the  covert  from 
which  the  shotissued,  as  now  plainly  indicated  by  alight 
cloud  of  diffusing  smoke,  he  again  quickly  brought  his 
rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and  stood  for  a  few  seconds  straining 
his  vision  for  a  sight  of  the  invisible  foe.  But  being  un- 
able to  discover  any  object  with  such  certainty  as  would 
justify  his  returning  the  fire,  he  suddenly  changed  his 
purpose,  and  leaped  forward  with  all  possible  speed  to- 
wards the  place.  In  one  moment  he  stood  on  the  spot 
just  occupied  by  his  dastard  assailant,  when  he  succeeded 
in  catching  a  glimpse  of  a  dark  form  rapidly  retreating 
over  another  swell  into  a  thick*  and  tangled  swamp.  His 
first  impulse  was  to  recommence  the  pursuit ;  but  a  second 
thought  told  him  that  it  would  probably  be  in  vain,  while 
it  uselessly  exposed  him  to  the  hazard  of  another  shot  of 
his  enemy  from  some  concealment,  which  he  would  have 
time  to  gain  unperceived.  He  therefore  reluctantly 
turned  and  retraced  his  steps  to  the  stream  he  had  just 
left, 

From  the  form  and  motions  of  the  assassin,  although 
in  a  disguised  dress,  Warrington  was  but  little  at  loss  in 
identifying  him  with  Darrow,  whom  he  had  twice  met 
and  as  often  frustrated  in  his  base,  or,  to  say  the  least, 
very  questionable  designs.  And  coupling  the  improbabil- 
ity that  the  fellow  was  acting  from  his  own  promptings 
in  his  murderous  attempt,  with  the  friendly  hints  of  Miss 
Hendee,  he  no  longer  doubted  that  Sherwood  was  indeed 
bent  on  his  destruction,  and,  finding  a  willing  instrument 
in  Darrow,  had  instigated  this  method  of  accomplishing 
it.  But  abandoning  all  thoughts  of  any  measures  to 
punish,  or  circumvent,  either  the  base  tool,  or  his  still 
more  dastard  employer,  till  his  public  duties  should  allow 
him  more  leisure,  he  now  hastily  crossed  the  stream,  and 


'  THE  GltEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  165 

proceeded  with  rapid  steps  towards  the  rendezvous  of 
his  assembling  companions,  which  he  only  reached  just 
as  the  last  glimmerings  of  departing  daylight  were  fad- 
ing in  the  western  horizon. 

«  Charles,  how  is  this !  "  exclaimed  Colonel  Allen,  break- 
ilg  away,  as  soon  as  he  noticed  Warrington's  arrival, 
'torn  a  group  of  several  of  the  most  influential  settlers  in 
lie  vicinity,  with  whom  he  appeared  to  have  been  engaged 
ai  a  low  confidential  conversation,  "  how  is  this,  that  you 
are  the  last  man  to  come  on  the  ground  ?  Why,  I  though* 
the  devil  had  got  you,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing  in  Dutch, 
that  you  had  gone  over  to  the  British,  to  apprise  thein  of 
our  project.  But,  come,  sir,  as  I  suppose  we  must  allow 
you  the  credit  of  having  done  rather  better  than  that,  I 
have  concluded  to  make  you  my  right  hand  man  for  the 
evening.     So  now  for  business." 

"In  that  case,  Colonel,"  replied  the  other,  "let  me 
suggest  to  you  the  precaution  of  placing  a  few  sentinels 
around  us,  while  in  convention.  There  may  be  those 
abroad  to-night,  who,  if  permitted  to  look  in  upon  us  here, 
would  render  our  enterprise  as  vain  as  the  crusades. 
Were  it  not  too  dark  I  would  show  you  a  hole  in  my  coat, 
through  which  one  of  these  prowlers  a  few  miles  back,  by 
a  small  mistake,  put  a  bullet,  instead  of  through  my  heart, 
as  evidently  intended." 

"  God  bless  you,  Charles,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked 
Allen,  with  surprise  and  emotion. 

"  I  mean  as  I  say." 

"  But  who  could  it  be?" 

"  That  despicablp  sergeant,  instigated  by  Sherwood,  I 
suspect." 

"  And  what  was  you  about  not  to  return  the  compliment 
on  the  spot?" 

"  lie  escaped  me  in  a  thicket,  and  I  had  no  time  to 
spend  in  the  cautious  pursuit  which  would  be  safe  or  suc= 
cessful — would  to  heaven  I  could  have  had  more  leisure  !  '5 

"  Well,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  Charles,  within  a  week, 
we  will  have  our  heels  on  that  nest  of  rattlesnakes.  But 
it  is  time  to  organize.  You  were  right  about  a  guard — 
will  you  attend  to  placing  it,  while  I  assemble  the  com- 
pany in  the  barn,  and  see  "that  each  has  the  watchword?" 

Allen  now  ordered  lights  to  be  brought,  and  placing 


166  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS. 

himself  at  the  door  of  the  building,  be  called  to  trie  com- 
pany to  advance  and  enter  singly.  Each  man  as  he 
presented  himself,  and  before  suffered  to  pass  in,  was 
strictly  required  to  give  the  watchword,  which,  as  a 
precautionary  measure  to  prevent  any  one  being  present 
whose  views  had  not  been  previously  ascertained,  bad 
been  confidentially  imparted  by  Allen  and  bis  associate 
leaders  since  the  meeting  was  in  agitation.  The  word 
chosen  for  this  purpose  was  Carillon,  an  appellation  by 
which  Fort  Ticonderoga  was  designated  by  the  French 
while  in  the  possession  of  their  government.  After  every 
man  bad  passed  this  test  of  admittance,  and  thus  proved 
himself  entitled  to  mingle  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
assembly,  Colonel  Allen  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and, 
after  stating  that  important  business  was  in  contemplation, 
the  successful  result  of  which  might  depend  on  the 
secrecy  with  which  it  was  conducted,  proposed  a  sort  of 
oath  or  affirmation,  binding  all  present  by  a  solemn 
promise  not  to  divulge  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting, 
and  its  consequent  measures,  till  the  reasons,  which  made 
secrecy  necessary,  should  cease  to  exist.  This  proposi- 
tion was  acceded  to  and  the  oatli  taken  by  rising.  Allen 
then,  as  the  acting  chairman  of  the  assemblage,  declared 
the  meeting  open  for  remarks  on  the  subject  which  they 
had  met  to  discuss. 

The  dead  silence,  which  was  now  for  a  few  moments 
observed  by  the  expectant  assembly,  was  broken  by  War- 
rington, who,  calmly  rising,  proceeded,  after  a  few  pre- 
liminary observations,  to  give  a  brief  history  of  the  com- 
mencement and  progress  of  the  quarrel  between  the 
colonies  and  mother  country.  He  then  enumerated  the 
wrongs  and  aggressions  which  the  former  had  suffered, 
while  meekly  and  vainly  petitioning  for  redress,  and 
closed  by  a  vivid  picture  of  the  recent  massacre  at  Lexing- 
ton, and  with  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  settlers  to  join 
the  inhabitants  of  the  sister  colonies  in  avenging  the  death 
of  their  slaughtered  countrymen. 

As  he  closed  his  harangue,  which  had  been  listened  to 
with  the  most  profound  attention,  a  visible  excitement 
ran  through  the  assembly.  And  the  hasty  changing  of 
positions,  as  they  sat  upon  their  rude  plank  seats  ranged 
in  rows  round  a  small  table,  on  which  dimly  burned  a 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  167 

small  taper,  the  glistening  eye,  the  indignant  glance,  the 
firmly  compressed  lip,  and  the  silent  working  of  the 
muscles  of  the  faces  of  these  hardy  mountaineers,  plainly 
told  the  speaker  that  he  had  been  addressing  men  who 
neither  lacked  the  intelligence  to  comprehend,  nor  the 
spirit  to  act,  as  soon  as  a  definite  object  for  action  was 
set  before  them. 

Remember  Baker,  one  of  the  most  shrewd,  sagacious, 
and  coolly  calculating  men  of  the  settlement,  next  arose 
and  addressed  the  meeting.  With  a  few  observations, 
for  he  was  not  a  man  of  many  words,  going  to  confirm 
the  statements,  and  fortify  the  positions  of  Warrington, 
he  told  them,  that  although  he  doubted  not  in  the  least, 
that  principle  alone  with  them  would  be  sufficient  to 
excite  them  to  action  in  the  coining  contest,  yet  their 
policy,  as  settlers  engaged  in  a  controversy  with  New 
York  for  their  homes  and  property,  demanded  that  they 
should  take  a  bold  and  decided  stand  against  the  British ; 
for  by  doing  this  they  would  at  once  enlist  the  S3rmpathies 
of  the  other  colonies  in  regard  to  their  wrongs,  draw  upon 
themselves  the  attention  and  respect  of  Congress,  to  which, 
if  backed  by  the  considerations  of  a  meritorious  service 
in  the  common  cause  of  the  country,  they  could  success- 
fully appeal  for  protection  against  the  aggressions  of  New 
York,  and  thus  place  themselves  in  an  attitude  in  which 
they  could  not  only  command  justice,  but  finally  secure 
the  privilege  of  becoming  an  independent  State. 

"'Member  is  right!"  exclaimed  one  of  that  class  with 
whom  this  artful,  and  as  the  event  afterwards  proved,  by 
no  means  ill-grounded  argument,  was  calculated  to  oper- 
ate with  particular  force. 

"Ay,  ay!"  responded  another,  "give  me  'Member 
Baker  for  foresight!  The  more  birds  we  can  kill  with 
one  stone  the  better." 

Although  the  argument  of  Baker  was  not  probably 
without  its  effect  on  the  minds  of  all,  situated  as  the  set- 
tlers were  with  respect  to  their  controverted  rights,  and 
when  added  to  the  manly  appeal  of  Warrington  to  their 
patriotism  and  principles,  had  wrought  up  the  assembly 
to  a  high  pitch  of  feeling,  yet  Allen,  conceiving  that  some- 
thing more  was  needed  to  ripen  them  for  action,  and  raise 
their  minds,  as  he  was  desirous  nf  doing,  to  a  level  with 


168  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

his  own  high-toned  enthusiasm,  now  rose,  and,  after  look 
ing  for  a  moment  fearlessly  and  confidently  around  him, 
as  he  stood  towering  with  his  giant  form,  like  Saul  among 
the  people,  began, — 
"Men  of  the  Gkeen  Mountains, — 

"  In  the  struggle  in  which  you  have  been  for  many  years 
sngaged,  you  have  won  among  the  people  of  these  colo- 
nies a  name  for  valor  and  patriotism.  But  have  you 
gained  this  proud  distinction  in  surmounting  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  past,  to  lose  it  now  by  inaction  in  the  more 
important  stake  of  the  present?  Have  you  so  long,  so 
nobly,  so  triumphantly,  resisted  arbitrary  power  in  the 
shape  of  little  tyrants  near  home,  to  submit  now  to  the 
lawless  dictations  of  great  ones  from  abroad?  Are  you, 
who  have  just  saved  your  homes  and  possessions  from 
the  giasp  of  these,  now  willing  to  yield  them  tamely  to 
those? — to  those  whose  despotic  dominion  would  soon 
render  them  but  possessions  in  name,  to  be  transmitted 
to  whom  ?  to  whom  I  say? — To  slaves  in  the  persons  of 
your  own  children !  Yes,  yo.ur  own  children,  who,  if  suf- 
fered to  retain  their  inheritance  at  all,  must  retain  it  with 
a  foot  of  a  lord  on  their  necks,  and  the  hand  of  a  priest 
in  their  pockets  !  Green  Mountain  Boys  !  could  you,  who 
have  drank  in  liberty,  from  the  very  air  of  your  green 
hills,  never  yet  contaminated  by  the  breath  of  a  tyrant, 
could  you  witness  this  and  live?  And  above  all,  can  you 
now  look  idly  on,  and  see  a  hireling  soldiery  swarming 
your  country,  enforcing  the  accursed  requisitions  of  their 
masters  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  shooting  down  your 
countrymen  and  brothers  by  scores,  as  if  they  were  wild 
beasts,  for  exercising  but  the  rights  which  God  and  nature 
have  given  them — can  you  look  upon  a  scene  like  this, 
and  lift  no  hand  for  your  rights? — strike  no  blow  to 
avenge  the  cold-blooded  murder  of  your  countrymen  at 
Lexington?  Great  God,  forbid!  Xo!  no!  my  brave 
mountaineers,  you  were  never  born  to  be  cringing  slaves! 
Your  bold  hearts  and  sinewy  arms  were  never  made  to 
be  listless  and  idle  at  a  time  like  this  !  Come,  then,  come 
on !  follow  me,  whose  heart  is  laboring  and  leaping  for 
the  work  of  vengeance,  and  whose  arm  is  nerved  and 
aching  for  the  blow!  Follow  me,  and  I  will  lead  you  to 
deeds  which  shall  cover  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  with. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  liOYS.  1C9 

imperishable  glory,  and  make  their  name  the  watchword 
of  liberty,  while  a  tyrant  shall  remain  to  disgrace  the 
image  of  his  God,  or  pollute  the  earth  with  his  presence." 

During  the  delivery  of  this  brief  and  exciting  appeal, 
the  expectant  audience  at  first  sat  in  their  seats  as  silent 
and  motionless  as  a  group  of  statues.  Before  the  speaker 
had  proceeded  through  many  sentences,  however,  the 
whole  company  had  noiselessly  risen  in  their  places, 
where  they  stood  as  if  spellbound  in  their  tracks,  every 
head  eagerly  bent  forward,  and  every  eye,  gleaming  with 
the  kindling  fire  within,  riveted  upon  their  idolized  leader, 
to  catch  the  bold  and  inspiriting  thoughts  that  fell  burn- 
ing  from  his  lips,  now  with  looks  of  fire  and  scorn,  and 
now  with  the  intonations  of  thunder.  And  as  he  went 
on,  rising  in  energy  and  power  at  every  sentence,  eyes 
were  seen  to  flash  brighter  and  brighter  with  indignation, 
tears  of  excited  and  overflowing  feeling  to  gush  over 
many  a  rough  cheek,  while  many  a  clenched  and  brawny 
fist  was  brandished  aloft,  in  mute  response  to  the  heart- 
stirring  words  of  the  speaker.  And  when  he  closed, 
"Ethan  Allen,  forever!  Ethan  Allen,  forever!"  rose  in 
one  loud  convulsive  shout  to  heaven. 

All  being  now  ripe  for  action,  and  many  loudly  demand- 
ing the  object  which  might  immediately  require  then- 
services,  Allen  laid  before  them  the  project  of  marching 
at  once  upon  the  British  forts  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  with  the  object  of  surprising  and  capturing  these 
two  important  though  now  weakly  garrisoned  fortresses. 
The  settlers  being  in  general  well  apprised  of  the  state 
of  these  garrisons,  and  entering  with  great  zeal  into  the 
views  of  their  leaders  respecting  the  importance  and  feas 
ibility  of  the  proposed  plan,  the  latter  now  made  a  call 
for  volunteers,  and  immediately  commenced  an  enrolment 
of  names,  which,  when  completed,  was  found,  to  the  joy 
and  surprise  of  Allen  and  his  colleagues,  to  embrace 
more  than  three-fourths  of  the  assemblage  now  present; 
while  even  the  rest  expressed  an  earnest  wish  to  aid  in  the 
enterprise  so  far  as  it  could  be  done  without  leaving  the 
neighborhood  of  their  homes,  where  their  presence  was 
demanded.  All  necessary  measures  preparatory  to  the 
expedition,  as  far  as  regarded  the  forces  raised  in  this 
section  of  the  Grants,  were  then  discussed  and  settled, 


170  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS. 

and  a  sufficient  number  of  men  were  selected  to  guard 
every  road  by  which  any  information  of  the  contemplated 
movement  could  be  conveyed  to  the  enemy.  These  were 
ordered  to  enter  upon  their  duties  the  next  day  ;  while 
the  main  body  were  to  equip,  and  otherwise  prepare 
themselves  in  the  best  manner  the  circumstances  would 
admit,  and  assemble  at  Castleton  on  the  fourth  day  from 
the  present  time.  After  these  arrangements  were  com- 
pleted, Allen  ordered  his  horse  to  be  brought  to  the  door, 
■tnd  announced  his  intention  of  departing  that  night  for  the 
south  part  of  the  settlement,  to  superintend  the  mustering 
of  the  forces  enlisting,  or  enlisted,  in  that  quarter. 

"Well,  my  brave  boys,"  said  the  Colonel,  mounting  his 
horse,  while  his  devoted  followers  were  crowding  around 
him,  "  remember  to  meet  me  at  Castleton  on  the  8th. 
Captain  Warrington  and  Lieutenant  Selden  will  muster 
and  take  charge  of  you.  Captain  Baker  goes  to  Winooski 
River  to  raise  what  force  he  can  there,  and  come  in  boats 
to  join  us  on  the  lake.  As  to  myself,  before  to-morrow's 
sunset  I  must  be  at  Holy  Hill.*  And  now,  my  fine  fel- 
lows, go  home,  and  prepare*  yourselves,  without  letting 
your  left  hands  know  what  your  rights  are  doing,  and  may 
the  Lord  bless  you  all  till  I  see  you  again." 

So  saying,  and  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  he  rushed 
down  the  road  to  the  south  and  disappeared. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  Now  be  thou  strong  I    Oh  I  knew  we  not 
Our  path  must  lead  to  this  r1 
A  shadow  and  a  trembling  still 
Were  mingled  with  our  bliss  I  " 

The  following  epistle  from  Miss  llendee  to  Miss  Reed, 
in  answer  to  the  one  from  the  latter,  inserted  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  was  written  in  the  interval  between  th? 
meeting  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  last  described  anc! 
the  general  mustering  of  their  forces  for  their  coutem 
plated  enterprise : — 

*An  appellation  by  which  Ethan  Allen  was  in  the  habit  o* 
Calling  Bennington. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  171 

Forgive  me,  dear  Jessy,  but  really  I  could  not  help 
laughing,  on  the  receipt  and  perusal  of  your  vivacious  and 
very  interesting  letter,  to  see  the  desperate  attempts  you 
there  repeatedly  make  to  conceal  from  me,  and  yourself, 
by  naked,  unmasked  assertions,  and  inferences  without 
premises,  the  heart-hidden  secret  which  your  every  third 
sentence,  at  least,  most  palpably  discloses.  Yes,  my  lady, 
whether  you  believe  it  or  not,  yourself,  you  are  but  little 
better  than  a  gone  girl,  and  your  doughty  major  will  find 
it  out,  too,  as  sure  as  Jealousy  has  eyes  and  Love  none. 
But  never  mind  it,  my  dear  girl,  nor  turn  up  that  pretty 
slender  nose  in  a  miff  at  what  I  say,  since  the  same  letter 
that  gives  you  cause  of  displeasure,  .f  cause  there  be,  will 
furnish  you  also  with  the  means  of  an  ample  revenge ;  for 
I,  too,  have  adventures  to  relate,  of  the  past  week's  occur- 
rence, scarcely  less  extraordinary  than  your  own.  When 
you  said,  Jessy,  in  that  little  parenthesis  which  you  threw 
into  your  letter  concerning  Warrington,  "  A  noble  looking 
fellow,  I  wish  you  could  see  him"  you  little  thought  that 
your  wish  had  been  granted  ere  expressed ;  and  far  less 
did  you  dream,  when  you  added,  "  1 think  you  would  like 
him"  how  much  of  a  prophetess  you  were  likely  to  be- 
come; for  Charles  Warrington  I  have  seen!  Warrington, 
the  Green  Mountain  Boy  !  Warrington,  the  York  outlaw ! 
and  Warrington,  the  generous,  high-minded,  and,  as  you 
truly  say,  noble  looking  fellow !  And  in  what  estimation 
I  secretly  hold  him,  you  will  better  understand,  when  I 
inform  you  that  my  old  acquaintance  Howard,  of  whom 
you  have  often  heard  me  speak,  and  Warrington  are  one 
and  the  same  person  !  You  cannot  be  more  surprised  at 
this  news  than  I  was  myself  at  the  discovery.  And  not 
small  was  the  confusion  of  thought  and  feeling  I  experi. 
snced  at  first,  I  confess,  in  reconciling  the  warring  concep- 
tions I  had  previously  entertained  of  these  two,  as  I  sup- 
posed them,  different'  and  almost  diametrically  opposite 
characters.  In  this,  however,  I  have  at  length  succeeded, 
and  even  to  that  degree  that  I  cannot  but  feel  that  the 
character  of  Howard,  pure  and  exalted  as  I  ever  thought 
it,  receives  an  additional  lustre  from  the  noble  and  disin- 
terested part  he  has  taken  in  behalf  of  these  poor,  and  as 
I  am  now  satisfied,  unjustly-treated  settlers. 

And  with  this  avowal  of  opinion,  you  will  of  course 


172  TI1E  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Understand  that  I  think  none  the  worse  of  him  for  being 
a  New  York  outlaw. 

We  have  had  three  interviews.     The  two  first  I  must 
pass  over  lightly,  as  I  have  much  of  a  more  interesting 
character  to  communicate.     I  first  encountered  Warring- 
ton in  the  border  of  the  woods  adjoining  our  opening, 
srhere  I  wandered,  a  fatalist  would  think,  but  to  be  fright- 
ened by  the  questionable  appearance  of  a  sergeant  froir 
the  fort,  and  to  be  relieved  by  the  opportune  arrival  of 
my  knight-errant  Green  Mountain  Boy.     Our  next  meet- 
ing was  at  our  house,  where,  in  the  course  of  the  evening, 
he  made  known  to  me  for  the  first  time  the  identity  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  and  where  also  he  came  near  being 
siezed  by  this  same  sergeant  and  his  soldiers,  who,  1  feel 
sure,  came  here  for  no  other  purpose,  being  prompted  by 
the  reward,  and  instigated,  as  I  cannot  but  suspect,  by 
one  who  shall  be  nameless.     But  Warrington,  and  another 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who  happened 
here  that  evening,  and  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  most  ex- 
traordinary man,   fairly  ou.t-generalled  their  mercenary 
enemies,  and,  by  a  little  favoring  from  a  quarter  which 
you  are  at  liberty  to  guess  at,  both  luckily  made  their 
escape.     Our  last  interview  has  been  to-day,  and  a  most 
important  one,  too,  I  fear  it  may  prove,  to  the  destinies  of 
your  perplexed,  and   in   some   respects   truly    unhappy 
friend.     But  before  entering  upon  particulars,  I  must  re- 
cur to  some  events  which  transpired  in  the  interim.     The 
next  day  after  W.'s  visit  and  fortunate  escape,  Sherwood 
came  here,  and  raised  a  storm  in  our  quiet  family,  which 
has  not  yet  wholly  ceased  raging.     It  seems  this  saga- 
cious lover  of  mine  who  has  often  heard  my  father  recount 
the  Samaritan  kindness  of  Howard,  and  perhaps  suspected 
my  own  secret  partialities,  had  discovered,  by  worming 
himself  into  the  confidence  of  the  settlers,  that  Howard 
and  Warrington  were  the  same,  but,  for  reasons  of  his 
own,  had  kept  the  discovery  entirely  to  himself  though  he 
had  been  for  several  months  in  possession  of  the  secret. 
It  appears  also,  that  he  had  been  apprised  of  each  of  my 
interviews  with  Warrington.     And  coming  armed  with 
all  this  annihilating  array  of  facts,  as  he  believed  it,  he, 
without  saying  a  word  to  me,  called  my  father  aside,  and 
poured  the  whole  story  into  his  ears,  with  such  additions 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  173 

and  embellishments  as  he  conceived  would  best  subserve 
his  purpose,— the  amount  of  which  was,  as  near  as  I  could 
gather,  that  ray  father  had  heen  harboring  a  branded 
villain,  who,  in  the  guise  of  a  gentleman,  had  been  aim- 
ing at  the  seduction  of  his  daughter,  and  the  eventual 
seizure  of  his  possessions.  Trembling  from  head  to  foot 
with  uncontrollable  rage,  my  father  immediately  hastened 
to  my  apartment.  I  will  not,  I  cannot  even  attempt  a 
description  of  the  painful  scene  that  followed.  You  are 
not  unacquainted  with  my  father's  unfortunate  infirmities 
of  temper.  You  can,  therefore,  in  some  measure  fancy, 
perhaps,  how  he  would  feel  and  act  under  such  a  repre- 
sentation of  things,  so  nearly  affecting  his  wishes  and 
interests — a  representation,  in  which  fact  and  falsehood 
were  so  artfully  blended,  that  a  much  cooler  tempera- 
ment, under  the  circumstances,  might  have  been  thus 
wrought  up  to  anger.  He  swore  and  wept  alternately.  I 
wept  freely  also,  but  only  at  witnessing  his  distress,  and 
at  the  thought  of  my  own  luckless  destiny,  which  had 
placed  me  in  a  situation  where  I  must  sacrifice  my  own 
happiness  for  life,  or  probably  be  the  means  of  destroy- 
ing that  of  a  parent,  who,  with  all  his  faults,  is  still  dear 
to^  my  heart.  I  said  but  little,  however.  Delicacy,  as 
well  as  prudence,  forbade  my  disclosing  the  state  of  my 
feelings.  And  as  to  all  other  charges,  I  could  only  assert 
my  innocence,  for  I  had  then  given  Mr.  W.  scarce  a  word 
of  encouragement. 

After  my  father  had  exhausted  his  store  of  reproaches 
upon  my  poor  head  and  left  me,  Sherwood  entered  and 
took  up  the  discourse.  I  could  not  but  feel  amused,  in 
spite  of  my  indignation  and  contempt  at  his  despicable 
course,  to  see  all  the  doubling  and  shif  tings  he  went  through 
in  his  desperate  attempts  to  regain  my  favor,  which  my 
manner  probably  pretty  plainly  told  him  he  had  put  in  con 
siderable  hazard.  After  protesting,  nattering,  apologiz 
ing,  and  arguing,  with  the  sycophancy  of  a  Frenchman 
and  the  sophistry  of  a  Jesuit,  he  finally  departed,  leaving 
me  to  myself,  and  that  negative  happiness  which  his 
absence  has  not  very  lately  failed  to  afford  me. 

The  next  morning  I  reminded  my  father,  whose  madness 
seemed  to  have  something  more  of  method  in  it  than  the 
day  Defore,  of  a  visit  which  had  a  few  days  previous  been 


174  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

projected  at  his  own  suggestion.  This  was  a  ride,  on 
horseback,  to  Otter  Creek  to  carry  a  few  necessaries  to 
a  distant  relative  of  ours,  Aunt  Story,  as  we  call  her, 
whose  curious  subterraneous  abode  I  have  before  de- 
scribed to  you,  I  believe.  No  serious  objection  being 
made  to  the  proposal,  I  accordingly  set  out  with  Nesho- 
bee,  my  usual  attendant  on  these  excursions,  who,  on 
another  horse,  accompanied  me  in  the  capacity  of  baggage 
man  and  squire.  We  had  a  pleasant  ride,  and  arrived 
without  any  particular  adventure  at  the  Creek,  opposite 
her  wood-begirt  residence.  O,  how  delightful  is  a  morn 
ing  ride  at  this  season  of  the  year  through  these  flower- 
ing forests !  How  fragrant  the  viewless  odors  that  regale 
your  senses  at  almost  every  step !  And,  in  the  present 
instance,  as  you  near  the  Green  Mountains,  how  pure  and 
invigorating  the  breezes  that,  seemingly  uncontaminated 
by  a  contact  with  earth,  come  wafting  down  their  dark 
sides  fresh  from  the  mid-heavens!  I  never  approach 
these  green-hilled  monuments  of  sylvan  magnificence, 
but  my  physical  powers  receive  an  impulse,  and  my  moral 
nature  becomes  sensibly  exalted.  No  wonder  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  should  be  men  of  such  high-toned 
character ! 

On  reaching  the  banks  of  the  Creek,  Neshobee  set  up 
his  shrill  whoop  (not  war-whoop)  to  make  known  our 
arrival  to  this  fearless  woman  of  the  woods.  This  being 
heard  and  understood  by  her,  she  quickly  made  her  ap- 
pearance, came  across  with  her  boat,  and  ferried  us  all 
safe  over  the  stream,  our  horses  having  been  left  tied  to 
saplings  on  the  bank  behind. 

I  must  not  stop  to  describe  the  cordial  reception  I  met 
with,  as  I  always  do  in  this  singular,  yet  interesting 
family;  nor  my  romp  with  the  curly-headed  brood  of 
children  that  thronged  around  me,  capering  in  wild  glee 
at  my  arrival,  and  their  eyes  fairly  sparkling  with  joy 
and  gratitude  at  the  sight  of  the  tit-bits  I  had  brought 
them.  After  the  rumpus  and  romping  with  the  joyous 
little  creatures  had  somewhat  subsided,  I  took  the  bright- 
eyed  and  lisping  little  Julia,  in  my  lap  ;  when  the  pretty 
rogue  immediately  clambered  up,  and  putting  her  arms 
around  my  neck,  in  the  sweet,  pleading,  and  playful  tones 
of  infantile  eloquence  exclaimed, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  175 

v  Now,  Couthin  Alma,  mayn't  I  kith  you  again  ?— 
there,  I  did !  I  will  again  I  There !  ha !  ha !  Now  I 
have  kithed  you  ath  many  timeth  ath  I  did  the  Young 
Captain." 

"  And  who,  pray,  my  pretty  one,"  said  I  quite  in- 
nocently, "who  is  this  Young  Captain  with  whom  you 
appear  to  have  been  so  familiar?" 

"  O,  he  itli  the  Young  Captain,"  replied  she,  hesitating 
in  her  childish  simplicity  how  to  define  her  favorite  by 
any  other  appellation  than  the  one  by  which  she  had 
been  accustomed  to  hear  him  called:  "  he  ith — he  ith  a 
good  Young  Captain.  I  kithed  him  three  timeth.  And 
wouldn't  you  kith  him  too,  Couthin  Alma,  if  he'd  let 
you  ?  Wouldn't  the  Young  Captain  let  Couthin  Alma 
kith  him,  ma  ?  " 

Puzzled  and  confused,  at  I  scarcely  knew  what,  I  turned 
to  the  mother  for  an  explanation;  when  to  my  still 
greater  confusion,  I  beheld  her  holding  her  sides,  while  her 
eyes  were  fairly  dancing  in  the  bright  tears  of  sup- 
pressed risibility,  to  which  she  now  gave  way  in  a  right 
hearty  fit  of  laughter. 

"Excuse  me,  Alma,"  said  she,  as  soon  as  she  could  com- 
mand her  merry  emotions  sufficiently  to  speak  ;  "  excuse 
me  for  laughing  at  the  child's  ludicrous  introduction  of  a 
subject,  which  I  was  at  the  very  moment  thinking  how 
I  could  myself  break  to  you.  The  Young  Captain,  as 
some  of  the  settlers  call  him,  is  no  other  than  the  well- 
known  leader  of  one  of  the  bands  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  Charles  Warrington.  Why,  bless  me  !  "  she  con- 
tinued, with  a  look  of  surprise,  as  she  now  lifted  her  eyes 
from  her  work  to  my  features,  "  What  ails  you,  Alma  ? 
Why  your  face  is  as  red  as — Oh  ! — ah  ! — aha ! — you  knew 
all  this  before,  did  you  ?  And  you  have  seen  him  your- 
self, you  rogue!"  she  added  mischievously,  shaking  her 
finger  at  me,  and  fixing  her  keen  eyes  on  my  face;  "  You 
have,  Alma,  and  you  need  not  attempt  to  deny  it." 

"I  have  not  denied  it,  aunt — have  I  ?"  I  replied,  rally- 
ing as  well  as  I  could. 

"  Well,  now,  Alma  Hendee,"  she  rejoined,  with  a  grati- 
fied and  serious  air,  "I  have  not  heard  anything  this  long 
while  that  has  done  me  more  good  than  this  news.  In- 
deed, for  the  past  week  in  particular,  I  have  actually 


176  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

prayed  that  you  might  meet  him,  though  I  dared  not  ba 
the  means  of  bringing  it  about.  And  the  reason  why  I 
wished  it  is,  because  I  think  so  much  of  the  man,  and 
feel  such  an  interest  in  the  cause  which  he  has  done  so 
much  to  sustain ;  and,  also,  because  I  knew  that  you, 
from  your  intercourse  and  connection  with  the  York 
party,  and  from  your  hearing,  as  you  naturally  would, 
nothing  but  slander  and  misrepresentation  of  the  man, 
and  curses  on  the  cause  in  which  he  has  been  so  nobly 
engaged,  that  you,  I  say,  must  have  almost  necessarily 
imbibed  wholly  erroneous  opinions  of  both  him  and  his 
cause — now,  has  it  not  been  so?" 

"Such,"  I  answered,  "was  once,  I  confess,  too  much 
the  case." 

"  I  thought  so,"  she  resumed,  "  and  but  for  the  fear 
that  I  might  displease  you, — for  I  never  know  how  to 
hold  up  when  T  begin, — and,  perhaps,  be  led  into  a  quar- 
rel with  your  fiery  old  father,  who  has  been  so  good  to 
me,  I  should,  before  this,  have  spoken  to  you  on  these 
matters.  Why,  this  same  Warrington  and  a  party  of  his 
followers  were  up  on  Lake  Dunmore  the  very  day  you 
were  last  here,  and  while  you  were  here  in  the  house 
playing  with  the  children,  I  discovered,  as  I  was  out  to 
the  edge  of  the  woods  to  get  cedar  boughs  for  a  broom,  a 
gang  of  Yorkers  going  in  pursuit  of  them.  Don't  you 
recollect  I  came  in  and  proposed  sending  Neshobee  out 
to  kill  us  a  partridge?" 

I  remembered  it,  and  assented. 

"  Well,"  she  continued,  "  it  was  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  despatch  him  to  Warrington  with  a  note  that  I 
scribbled  in  that  closet.  Neshobee,  I  knew,  was  a  friend 
to  the  Captain." 

"  Neshobee !  "  said  I,  in  surprise,  "  why,  I  never  heard 
him  so  much  as  utter  the  name ! " 

"  It  is  true  for  all  that,"  she  rejoined ;  "  Warrington 
once  did  him  a  service  when  they  happened  to  meet  on 
a  hunt,  and  Neshobee,  being  made  acquainted  with  the 
other's  situation,  and  knowing  yours,  has  been  as  pru- 
dent as  he  is  faithful." 

"  But  what  became  of  the  Yorkers  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  The  Green  Mountain  Boys  threw  them  into  the  lake 
and  returned  to  this  neighborhood,"  she  answered.   "  The 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  177 

Captain  and  his  Lieutenant  came  and  slept  that  very 
night  in  this  house,  and  were  here  asleep  on  the  floor, 
when  I  came  up  to  the  house,  after  helping  you  off  the 
next  morning.  Do  you  remember  singing  us  a  song  that 
night,  just  before  going  to  bed,  and  how  you  were  inter- 
rupted by  a  noise  in  the  woods  above  us?" 

"I  do,  but  what  of  that?"  said  I,  somewhat  startled. 

"Why,  nothing,"  she  replied,  smiling,  "only  War- 
rington, who  rambled  out,  after  his  friend  fell  asleep, 
heard  your  performance." 

"You  astonish  me,  Aunt  Story,"  I  replied;  "but  surely 
he  could  not  have  distinguished  my  voice  in  that  under 
ground  abode?" 

"Not  exactly,"  answered  she,  "and  yet  he  was 
strangely  puzzled,  and  seemed,  when  telling  me  of  the 
affair  the  next  morning,  to  have  some  suspicions  of  the 
truth." 

"  But  did  you  tell  him  who  it  was  ? "  I  eagerly  de- 
manded. 

"  No,  Alma,"  she  said,  "  I  kept  your  secret  for  reasons 
which  I  have  before  named,  and  sent  him  off  worse  puz- 
zled than  before.  But  how  did  he  introduce  himself — as 
Howard,  or  as  Warrington  ?  for  that  the  two  were  one 
and  the  same  is  a  riddle  that  I  guessed  out  long  ago." 

I  told  her  the  circumstances  ;  after  which  she  resumed, 

"  So  you  have  a  hurricane  at  your  house.  Well,  Alma, 
iet  it  blow  on,  and  overturn,  till  it  levels  falsehood  and 
corruption  to  the  ground,  and  brings  truth  and  justice 
uppermost.  And  when  that  takes  place,  if  you  will  be- 
lieve me,  Jake  Sherwood  will  be  swept  into  the  gulf  of 
infamy,  where  he  ought  to  be  now,  instead  of  being  here 
among  men,  with  the  pretensions  of  a  man,  but  with  the 
real  character  of  a  spy  and  hypocrite  !  " 

"You  are  very  severe,  aunt,"  I  remarked,  not  so  much 
offended,  however,  as  I  might  have  been. 

"  I  hold,  Alma,"  she  rejoined,  "  that  the  boldness  of  a 
truth  is  no  reason  for  suppressing  its  utterance.  Why, 
Alma  Hendee,  whether  you  know  it  or  not,— -whether  you 
will  believe  it  or  not,  it  is  God's  truth,  that  with  all  his 
smooth  manners  and  gentlemanly  appearance,  the  heart, 
of  that  same  Jacob  Sherwood  is  as  black  as  the  outside 
of  my  dinner-pot  t " 
ta 


178  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYCi. 

I  began  to  say  something  which  she  took  for  a  qualifieu 
assent,  when  cutting  me  short,  she  went  on, — 

"  You  know  that  it  is  so,  Alma.  And  now,  that  you 
have  again  met  with  Warrington,  I  know  where  your 
heart  is,  or  I  should  not  venture  to  say  so  much.  Far 
be  it  from  me  ever  to  interfere  with  matches — matches 
that  are  truly  such.  But  mis-matches  patched  up  on 
earth,  and  accursed  of  heaven,  I  should  feel  myself  honored 
in  being  the  instrument  of  breaking.  And  knowing,  as  I 
think  I  do,  all  the  motives  and  circumstances  which  led 
you  to  acquiesce  in  this  entanglement  with  Sherwood, 
and  knowing,  also,  that  a  match  between  you  would  be 
yoking  darkness  to  light,  I  stand  prepared,  as  your  friend, 
acting  in  the  place  of  your  sainted  mother,  now  in  heaven, 
to  advise  you  to  say,  even  in  despite  of  the  favorite 
schemes  of  your  mistaken  and  blinded  father,  to  say  to 
Sherwood,  as  Peter  said  to  Simon  Magus,  who  would 
buy  the  sacred  gift  with  money,  '  Thy  gold  perish  with 
thee ! ' " 

A  long  conversation  then  ensued  between  us,  in  which 
all  the  information  possessed  by  either,  relative  to  the 
York  controversy,  and  the  part  taken  in  the  same  by 
Warrington,  Sherwood,  and  others,  was  mutually  im- 
parted and  received,  and  our  opinions  and  feelings  on 
these  subjects  freely  exchanged.  While  still  engaged  on 
this  engrossing  theme,  one  of  the  children  came  running 
into  the  house  with  the  cry,  "The  Young  Captain  is  com- 
ing !  the  Young  Captain  is  coming ! "  I  was  struck  dumb 
by  this  unexpected  announcement,  and  so  surprised  and 
Buttered,  that,  had  I  been  a  bird,  I  believe  I  should  have 
instantly  clapped  my  wings  and  flown  away.  But  as  it 
was,  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  prepare  to  meet  the  half- 
dreaded,  half-courted  danger,  as  unconcernedly  as  possi- 
ble. We  had  little  time  allowed  us  for  preparation,  how- 
ever; for  scarce  had  the  announcement  been  made,  before 
Warrington  entered  the  door  attended  by— whom  think 
you,  Jessy?  I  wish  you  could  have  been  there !  In  that 
case,  to  follow  up  that  odd  comparison  of  yours,  the  brisk 
little  drummer  in  your  heart  would  have  found  his  match, 
I  think,  to  keep  up  the  accompaniment  with  the  lively 
performer  at  work  in  my  own :  for  Captain  Warrington'* 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  179 

attendant  was  no  other  than  your  favored  knight,  the  gay, 
witty,  and  handsome  Seidell.  An  hour  spent  in  his  com- 
pany was  sufficient  to  make  me  feel  that  these  flattering 
epithets,  and  even  more,  might  be  justly  applied  to  him. 
Now,  don't  be  jealous,  girl,  for  though  peculiarly  pleased 
with  him,  I  certainly  was,  yet  my  feelings  were  anything 
but  those  constituting  what  we  define  to  be  that  undefi- 
nable  concern,  called  love — no,  no,  not  that,  but  a  singular 
sort  of  a  flowing  away  of  the  heart  towards  him,  which 
I  can  neither  describe  nor  account  for,  unless  the  solution 
be  found  in  the  prepossessions  of  him  that  your  letter  had 
implanted. 

We  are  now  summoned  to  a  dinner,  which  our  free- 
hearted hostess  had  done  her  best  in  preparing  for  us. 
The  meal  itself,  as  you  know  it  must  have  been,  consider* 
ing  the  limited  store  from  which  it  had  to  be  prepared, 
was  certainly  a  plain  one.  But  partaken  in  such  com- 
pany,  how  could  it  be  other  than  a  delightful  one !  With 
me,  it  forcibly  exemplified  the  proverb  of  the  wise  man, 
"  Better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs,  where  love  is,  than  a  stalled 
ox  and  hatred  therewith." 

After  dinner,  Warrington,  with  his  peculiar  delicacy  of 
manner,  proposed  a  ramble.  My  tongue  would  have  de- 
clined the  proposal,  but  my  heart,  rising  in  rebellion,  sup- 
pressed the  utterance,  and  I,  silently,  and  with  a  palpi- 
tating bosom,  assented.  All  seemed  to  understand  the 
object  of  our  walk,  and  no  one,  not  even  a  child,  offered  to 
accompany  us.  I  felt,  indeed,  myself,  that  my  destiny  for 
life  hung  on  the  events  of  that  hour.  We  proceeded  in 
almost  unbroken  silence  to  the  bank  of  the  river  when  I 
soon  found  myself  seated,  I  scarcely  know  how,  by  his 
side,  upon  a  flowery  hillock.  The  quiet  waters,  sparkling 
in  the  rays  of  the  meridian  sun,  were  gently  gliding  along 
in  soft  murmurs  at  our  feet ;  while  a  spreading  thorn-tree, 
loaded  with  blossoms  of  snowy  whiteness,  and  filling  the 
air  with  delicious  fragrance,  formed  the  canopy  for  our 
heads.  I  cannot  describe  what  now  passed.  My  heart 
soon  overflowed  with  contending  emotions.  I  found  my- 
self able  to  prevail  against  its  stronger  dictates  no  longer; 
and  my  feelings  found  vent  in  a  flood  of  tears.  My  head 
involuntarily  rested  on  his  shoulder,  while  he  advocated 
his  cause  with  all  the  tender  pathos  of  love,  which  found 


180  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

a  chord  in  my  own  bosom  so  powerfully  responsive  fco  its 
eloquent  pleadings  that, 

M  Then  our  hearts  together  run  j 
And  like  kindred  drops  of  water, 
Met  and  mingled  into  one." 

The  winged  moments  flew  by  unheeded ;  and  when,  afe 
,he  end  of  an  hour,  which,  in  this  sweet  trance  of  the  af- 
fections, seemed  as  a  moment,  we  rose  to  return,  our  mu- 
tual vows  of  unchanging  love  and  eternal  constancy,  had 
ascended  to  the  registry  of  Heaven. 

Soon  after  our  return  to  the  house,  the  gentlemen  ap- 
prised us  of  the  necessity  of  their  immediate  departure; 
when,  after  an  affectionate  adieu,  they  proceeded  on  their 
destination.  This  destination  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  un- 
fold, and  shall  consequently  be  debarred  from  some  par- 
ticulars connected  with  my  parting  with  W.  which  awak- 
ened  a  solicitude  alike  new  and  painful  to  my  feelings.  1 
did  not  tarry  long  after  they  left  us.  But  after  a  shower 
of  thanks,  praises,  and  blessings  from  our  hostess,  for  the 
step,  which  I  apprised  her  I  had  taken,  1  soon  set  out  for 
home,  where  I  arrived  before  sunset. 

On  another  page  of  this  letter  I  styled  myself  your  per- 
plexed friend.  I  am  so,  though  not  because  1  regret  the 
step  I  have  taken,  but  on  account  of  the  difficulties  which 
must  soon  beset  me,  I  have  also  many  painful  apprehen- 
sions of  the  effect  which  my  engagement  may  have  when 
it  becomes  known,  as  ere  long  it  necessarily  must,  on  not 
only  my  father's  happiness,  but  his  property,  owing  to 
the  peculiarities  of  our  situation.  As  these  cannot  be 
understood  without  a  knowledge  of  some  former  events 
connected  with  our  family,  I  will  in  confidence,  briefly 
relate  to  you  the  leading  particulars  of  our  family  history. 
My  paternal  grandfather's  family  consisted  of  my  uncle 
Gabriel  llendee,  and  my  father,  James  Hendee,  with 
their  half-sister  Mary,  who  married  John  Sherwood, 
father  of  Jacob  Sherwood.  To  these  three  was  left  a 
considerably  extensive  property,  winch  was  increased  as 
far  as  regarded  the  shares  of  Gabriel,  and  his  brother-in 
law,  Sherwood,  who,  becoming  partners,  engaged  in  the 
lucrative  trade  and  commerce  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
on  the  banks  of  which,,  within  the  borders  of  Massa 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  181 

c&usetts,  yon  are  already  aware,  we  all  once  resided. 
But  my  father,  who  was  of  a  different  disposition  and 
less  inclined  to  confine  himself  to  the  details  of  business, 
entered  into  uncertain  speculations,  which,  instead  of 
Increasing,  diminished  his  original  inheritance,  involved 
him  in  some  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  finally  led 
him  to  abandon  trade,  for  which  he  seemed  neither  to 
have  much  tact  nor  inclination,  and  seek  a  commission 
in  the  army,  destined  for  the  French  and  Indian  wars, 
then  beginning  to  rage  along  our  borders.  Obtaining  the 
commission  he  sought,  he  was  soon  called  into  active 
service,  having  entrusted  Sherwood  to  arrange  his  affairs 
and  take  charge  of  our  property ;  while  Uncle  Gabriel, 
having  no  family,  and  becoming  an  invalid,  retired  from 
business,  and  came  to  reside  with  our  family  in  father's 
absence.  Several  years  thus  passed  away,  father  at  in- 
tervals returning  home  to  see  his  wife  and  son,  the  dar- 
ling little  Edward,  and  spend  such  time  with  them  as  his 
public  duties  would  permit,  scarcely  troubling  himself  to 
look  into  the  state  of  his  property,  which  he  believed  to 
be  in  hands  where  it  would  be  husbanded  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. My  uncle  Gabriel  in  the  meanwhile  still  con- 
tinuing to  live  in  the  family,  and  appearing  much  at- 
tached to  it,  especially  to  his  little  nephew,  made  his  will, 
bequeathing  his  whole  property  to  the  child,  when  of 
age,  and  all  the  income  till  that  time,  and  certain  portions 
of  it  after,  to  my  father.  But  it  so  happened  not  long 
after  this  that  Mr.  Sherwood,  who  had  taken  a  tem- 
porary residence  further  up  the  river,  paid  our  family  a 
long  visit,  at  the  end  of  which  he  took  my  uncle  home 
with  him,  where  he  soon  grew  worse  and  died  ;  not  how- 
ever, as  it  soon  appeared,  till  he  had  added  a  codicil  to 
his  will,  making,  in  case  of  Edward's  death,  Mr,  Sher- 
wood's son,  Jacob,  legatee,  and  placing  that  family  where 
the  will  placed  ours.  From  that  time  misfortunes  see  med 
to  fall  fast  and  heavy  on  our  devoted  family.  My  mother 
soon  sickened  and  died,  leaving  me,  her  youngest  child, 
about  a  year  old.  Our  family  establishment  was  then 
broken  up.  Edward  was  placed  in  the  family  of  Mr. 
Sherwood;  and  I  was  sent  to  a  relation  of  my  mother  in 
Hartford.  But  father,  already  borne  down  with  sorrow 
at  the  loss  of  two  wives  {for  my  mother  was  a  second 


J82  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

wife  by  whom  he  had  no  other  child),  was  doomed  t« 
another  blow  scarcely  less  fatal  to  his  happiness,  and 
more  so  to  his  future  prospects,  in  the  further  loss  of 
that  son,  on  whom  all  nis  hopes  and  dependence  had 
been  placed.  The  boy  had  been  allowed,  as  the  story 
was  told,  to  accompany  a  reckless  young  man,  then  in 
Sherwood's'  employ,  many  miles  into  the  interior,  and 
there  strayed  away,  and  never  could  be  found.  There 
was  a  rapid  river  running  tnrough  the  woods,  in  which 
he  might  have  been  drowned,  and  swept  down  into  the 
Connecticut.  But  it  was  considered  more  probable  tbat 
he  bad  been  seized  by  some  small,  lurking  band  of  Indians 
(traces  of  whom  were  discovered  in  the  vain  search  for 
the  boy),  and  by  them  murdered,  as  it  was  supposed,  since 
no  tidings  of  him  ever  reached  us.  My  father,  when  he 
returned  and  learned  the  fate  of  his  son,  was  inconsolable. 
And  Mr.  Sherwood  seemed  deeply  to  sympathize  with 
him,  and  moreover  to  manifest  great  regret  that  uncle 
had  so  altered  his  will  as  to  take  all  his  property  from 
our  family,  assuring  my  father  that  he  would  make  such 
provision  for  us  as  would  be*  a  recompense.  After  this 
visit  my  father  remained  abroad  to  the  close  of  the  war, 
when,  being  discharged  from  the  service,  he  began  to  be- 
think him  about  the  means  of  a  future  livelihood,  and 
called  on  Sherwood  to  account  for  his  property,  which,  to 
his  dismay,  had  dwindled  to  a  mere  pittance.  And  re- 
ceiving it",  he  commenced  a  small  business  in  Hartford, 
where°he  resided  till  I  was  about  seventeen,  living  in 
good  style,  and  bestowing  on  me  the  best  education  the 
place  afforded.  But  again  becoming  embarrassed  by 
expenses  beyond  his  income,  and  his  pride  revolting  at 
the  thought  of  being  a  bankrupt  in  this  place,  he  took  me, 
and  secretly  left  town  for  Albany,  to  avail  himself  of  the 
many  promises  of  Mr.  Sherwood,  who  had  removed  to 
the  latter  place  many  years  before.  We  were  kindly 
received  by  Mr.  S.,  who  furnished  father  with  money  to 
pay  off  his  creditors  in  Hartford,  and  subsequently  ^  to 
purchase  our  present  residence,  though  most  of  the  im- 
provements have  been  made  through  the  means  of  the 
half  pay  which  he  receives  from  government. 

You  will  now,  Jessy,  be  able  to  appreciate  the  difficul- 
ties of  my   situation,  and  perceive  the   reasons  which 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  183 

actuate  my  father  in  the  strenuous  course  which  he  has 
pursued,  and  will  be  likely  still  to  pursue,  in  urging 
a  connection  between  me  and  Jacob  Sherwood.  Jessy, 
adieu.  A.  H. 

P.  S.  When  I  closed  as  above,  last  night,  I  expected 
the  letter  would  have  been  taken  early  this  morning  by 
Major  Skene's  colored  man,  Jack,  who  said  he  should  go 
up  with  his  boat  to-day ;  but  he  has  just  called  and  says 
he  shall  not  go  till  to-morrow  morning.  The  main  object 
of  this  postscript  is,  however,  to  say,  that  if  you  thought 
it  so  important  that  I  should  keep  your  secret,  you  can- 
not but  see  how  much  more  so  it  is  that  you  keep  mine. 
I  know  not  but  Mr.  "Warrington's  life  may  depend  on  it 
— I  did  not  mean  to  say  this,  but  my  fears  and  forebod- 
ings have  compelled  me.  You  do  not  know  Mr.  S.— « 
would  to  heaven  I  had  never  known  him. — Farewell. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS 


PART  n. 


CHAPTER  I. 

**  Tkey  came,  impatient  for  the  fight- 
Burning  to  rush  into  the  slaughter,-- 
Ready  to  pour  their  blood  like  water 
For  what  they  deem  the  right ; — 
Like  men,  preferring  glorious  graves 
To  life  if  it  must  be  the  life  of  slaves !  " 

It  seems  to  be  universally  conceded  that  the  first 
settlers  of  Vermont  were  men  of  an  iron  mould,  and  of 
an  indomitable  spirit.  And  it  is  no  less  true,  we  appre- 
hend, that  with  corporeal  frames  unusually  large  and 
muscular,  and  constitutions  peculiarly  robust  and  endur- 
ing, they  possessed,  also,  intelligence  and  mental  energies, 
which,  considering  what  might  naturally  be  expected  of 
men  of  their  condition  in  life,  and  in  their  situation  in  a 
wilderness  affording  none  of  the  ordinary  means  of  intel- 
lectual culture,  were  equally  remarkable.  The  proof  of 
these  assertions  is  to  be  abundantly  found,  we  think,  in 
the  unequalled  stand  taken  by  them  for  their  rights,  in 
their  memorable  controversy  with  New  York,  and  in  the 
multiplied  documents  that  grew  out  of  it,  in  the  shape  of 
resolves  and  decrees  of  conventions,  addresses  to  the 
people,  memorials  and  remonstrances  to  the  governor  of 
that  province,  and  to  the  British  throne  itself,  all  drawn 
up  with  great  clearness  and  cogency  of  reasoning,  and 
evincing  a  knowledge  of  natural  and  constitutional  rights 
in  a  people,  among  whom  law  as  a  profession  was  then 
entirely  unknown,  which  are  generally  to  be  found  only 


186  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

in  the  courts  and  councils  of  old  and  highly  civilized 
countries.  And  even  were  these  testimonials  to  their 
character  wholly  wanting,  ample  evidence  that  they  were 
a  generation  of  no  ordinary  men  may  still  he  seen  in  the 
scattered  remnant  of  this  noble  band  of  heroes  yet  linger- 
ing among  us,  like  the  few  and  aged  pines  on  their  ever- 
green  mountains,  and,  though  now  bowed  down  by  the 
weight  of  nearly  a  century  of  years,  exhibiting  frames, 
which  would  almost  seem  to  indicate  them  as  men  be- 
longing to  another  race,  and  which  are  still  animated  by 
the  light  of  wisdom  and  intelligence,  and  warmed  by  the 
unconquerable  spirit  of  freedom  yet  burning  unwasted 
within  them. 

Those  who  have  treated  on  this  subject,  when  alluding 
to  the  facts  we  have  stated,  have  generally  coupled  them 
with  observations  upon  the  invigorating  effects  of  moun- 
tain air,  etc.,  leaving  us  to  infer  that  these  peculiarities 
of  the  early  settlers,  were  attributable  only  to  such 
causes.  It  is,  indeed,  doubtless  the  case,  that  the  wild 
scenery,  and  the  pure  elastic  air  of  mountainous  coun- 
tries, are  the  most  favorable,  under  the  same  degree  of 
culture,  to  the  formation  of  the  highest  grade  of  physical, 
as  well  as  moral  and  intellectual  character — imparting, 
in  the  one  instance,  that  health  and  peculiar  vigor  which 
brings  the  human  system  to  all  the  perfection  that  it  is 
capable  of  attaining,  and,  in  the  other,  engendering,  with 
firmness  of  nerves,  and  firmness  of  purpose,  the  usual 
attendants  of  great  bodily  powers,  a  healthy  and  high- 
toned  imagination,  and  those  lofty  aspirations  that  exalt 
the  character,  and  prompt  to  great  and  noble  actions. 
But  whatever  influence  the  peculiar  climate  and  scenery 
of  this  Switzerland  of  America,  as  Vermont  may,  perhaps, 
be  appropriately  termed,  may  have  had,  in  this  respect, 
on  the  descendants  of  these  hardy  settlers,  little  of  tins 
influence,  probably,  would  have  been  perceptible  on  the 
settlers  themselves :  they,  it  must  be  recollected,  were 
not  natives  of  these  mountains,  but  recent  emigrants 
from  other  New  England  colonies.  And  whatever  pecul- 
iarities they  possessed  must  mainly  have  originated  in 
other  causes — from  the  very  nature  of  the  enterprise, 
probably,  which  brought  them  together,  that  of  set- 
tling a  wild  and  rough  frontier   country,  known  to  be 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  18? 

attended  by  a  thousand  difficulties  and  hardships,  and 
beset  by  a  thousand  dangers,  in  which  men  of  ordinary 
stamina  would  never  think  of  engaging.  They,  indeed* 
may  be  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  picked  men,  or  more 
properly,  perhaps,  in  that  of  volunteers,  stepping  boldly 
and  confidently  forth  for  some  extraordinary  enterprise, 
of  which  the  hazard  and  difficulty  are  so  great,  that 
nothing  but  an  uncommon  union  of  courage  and  strength 
can  accomplish  it,  and  of  which  the  success,  or  even  the 
attempt,  it  may  be,  furnishes  the  best  evidence  of  tbese 
qualities  in  those  who  voluntarily  enlist  in  the  under- 
taking.  And  as  regards  the  intelligence  and  mental 
character  of  these  settlers,  their  educations  were  generally 
equal  to  those  usually  received  among  the  better  classes 
of  the  old  settlements  where  they  were  obtained,  and 
superior,  probably,  to  what  the  same  men  were  able  to  fur- 
nish to  their  immediate  descendants.  And  this  fact,  to* 
gether  with  the  emergencies,  which  not  only  called  all  the 
energies  of  their  minds  into  action,  but  constantly  im« 
proved  them  and  enlarged  their  information  by  the  inves- 
tigations they  were  induced  to  make  for  the  successful 
prosecution  of  their  cause  in  the  New  York  controversy, 
will  sufficiently  account  for  their  intellectual  superiority 
over  the  ordinary  settlers  of  other  new  countries. 

With  these  observations,  here  thrown  in  by  way  of 
showing  our  warrant  for  many  of  the  descriptions  of  char- 
acter  which  we  have  introduced,  and  which,  we  thought 
it  not  impossible,  might  otherwise  subject  us  to  the  charge 
of  indulging  in  improbabilities,  we  will  now  proceed 
with  the  incidents  of  our  story. 

The  morning  of  the  ninth  of  May  broke  brightly  upon 
the  encampment  of  our  troops  at  Castleton,  disclosing  to 
the  view,  now  for  the  first  time,  an  organized  band  of 
about  three  hundred  as  brave  and  hardy  men  as  ever  as- 
sembled for  deeds  of  daring  and  danger.  Of  this  number 
more  than  three-fourths  were  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
The  remainder  were  men  collected  from  the  nearest  parts 
of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and  led  on  by  several 
enterprising  militia  officers  of  these  colonies,  who  had 
actively  co-operated  in  getting  up  the  expedition.  A  coun- 
cil had  been  held  the  night  previous,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  these  united  forces,  which  had  been  dropping 


188       THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY&. 

in  irregularly  through  the  day  and  a  greater  part  of  the 
night,  and  also  for  making  all  other  necessary  arrange- 
ments to  march  for  their  destination  on  the  following 
morning.  At  this  council  Ethan  Allen  had  been  unani- 
mously appointed  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  expedi- 
tion. Colonel  Easton,  one  of  the  Massachusetts  officers, 
was  placed  second  in  command.  And  the  third  grade  was 
assigned  to  Warrington  ;  while  Selden,  in  making  the  sub- 
ordinate appointments,  was  raised  to  the  post  of  captain 
to  supply  the  place  left  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  his 
superior.  Even  our  friend,  Pete  Jones,  though  now  ab- 
sent, was  not  forgotten  in  the  distribution  of  honors,  but 
named  to  take  charge  of  the  scouts,  provided  he  joined 
the  expedition.  All  these  arrangements  having  been  made 
the  night  before,  as  just  stated,  the  troops  by  sunrise  had 
breakfasted,  and  were  now  under  arms,  and  undergoing 
a  review  preparatory  to  marching.  All  were  in  high 
spirits,  and  animated  at  the  thought  of  being  immediately 
led  to  the  important  object  of  their  enterprise.  Their 
gallant  leader,  now  dressed  and  equipped  in  a  manner 
appropriate  to  his  rank,  and  mounted  on  his  own  noble 
charger,  was  riding  proudly  along  their  imposing  front — 
now  pausing  to  give  some  directions  to  an  officer,  now  to 
inspect  the  equipments  of  a  company,  and  now  backing 
his  curvetting  steed  to  take  a  view  of  the  whole;  while 
his  towering  form  seemed  to  dilate,  and  rise  still  higher 
to  the  view,  his  bosom  heave  with  pride,  and  his  eyes 
glisten  with  delight,  as  they  ran  along  the  lines  of  his 
stout  and  broad-chested  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  read 
in  their  hardy  features,  lit  up  with  enthusiasm,  and  eager- 
ness  for  action  in  a  cause  which  every  man  had  made  his 
own,  the  same  high  resolves,  the  same  burning  desires  to 
signalize  themselves  that  animated  his  own  bosom. 

At  this  moment,  a  stranger,  who,  with  a  single  attend- 
ant in  the  capacity  of  a  servant,  had  but  a  short  time  be- 
fore arrived,  come  on  to  the  ground,  and  took  a  con- 
spicuous stand  in  front  of  the  troops.  He  was  of  about 
the  middle  age,  stout,  well-made,  and  handsomely  featured, 
while  a  Roman  nose,  a  thin,  curling  lip,  and  a  black  flash- 
ing eye,  with  the  peculiarly  contemptuous,  and  even  sin- 
ister expression,  and  reckless  air,  which  they  combined 
to  give  his  countenance,  denoted  no  ordinary  degree  of 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  189 

self-esteem,  and  a  fiery  and  impetuous  disposition.  He 
was  richly  and  fashionably  dressed,  and  wore  a  sword, 
epaulet,  and  other  insignia  usually  worn  by  field  officers 
of  the  times. 

"Captain  Blagden,"  said  Selden,  turning  to  a  Connec- 
ticut officer  near  him,  and  pointing  to  the  stranger  just 
described,  "  can  you  inform  me  who  that  proud  and  scorn- 
ful-looking fellow  yonder  may  be  ?  He  belongs  not  to  us 
of  the  Green  Mountains ;  nor  does  he  appear  to  have  anj 
connection  with  the  troops  from  Massachusetts,  or  with 
those  from  your  own  colony;  and  yet  his  demeanor,  and 
showy  military  appendages,  would  lead  one  to  suppose 
that  he  came  here  to  take  command  of  the  whole  of  us." 

"  I  have  been  looking  at  the  man  myself,"  replied  the 
person  addressed,  "and  though  not  quite  certain,  yet  I 
believe  I  know  him.  I  think  he  must  be  one  whom  I  well 
knew  when  we  were  boys,  and  of  whose  singular  career 
I  have  since  been  often  informed.  And,  if  my  conjectures 
are  right,  his  name  is  Arnold,  Benedict  Arnold,  of  Xew 
Haven." 

"  But  what  do  you  imagine  has  brought  him  here  with 
these  apparent  assumptions?" 

"  Well,  now  I  bethink  me,  sir,  I  remember,  that  the  day 
I  left  home,  a  townsman  of  mine,  who  had  just  returned 
from  Xew  Haven,  reported  that,  when  the  news  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington  arrived  at  that  place,  Captain  Arnold, 
who  is  the  commander  of  an  independent  company  there, 
started,  with  several  other  military  men,  post  haste  for 
the  scene  of  action.  And  as  he  is  said  to  be  a  good  officer, 
having  been  a  soldier  in  the  army  (into  which  he  run 
away  and  enlisted  in  his  youth)  I  should  not  be  surprised 
to  learn  he  had  received  a  commission  from  the  Massachu- 
setts Committee  of  Safety.  And  further,  as  he  was  sta- 
tioned, while  a  boy-soldier,  at  Ticonderoga,  and  knows, 
doubtless,  considerable  of  it.3  situation,  I  will  hazard  ;.: 
bottle  with  you,  Captain  Selden,  that  he  has  craved,  and 
obtained,  permission  of  that  Committee,  to  take  charge 
of  the  troops  which  they  probably  heard  were  collecting 
for  this  expedition." 

"  Aha  ?  Colonel  Allen,  I  imagine,  will  have  a  word  to 
say  to  that  bargain.  It  would  fairly  break  his  heart  to 
be  deprived  of  the  chance  of  receiving  the  first  charge  of 


190  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

grape  or  canister  that  shall  salute  us  from  the  wide, 
mouthed  war-dogs  of  Old  Ti.  And  if  your  surmises  ara 
correct,  a  collision,  I  fear,  is  unavoidable  unless  Mr. 
Arnold  should,  as  I  think  he  certainly  ought,  waive  his 
pretensions  to  the  command." 

"  A  collision  it  will  be  then ;  for  Arnold,  it  is  said,  was 
never  yet  known  to  yield  to  anything,  when  his  pur. 
poses  were  fixed.  A  more  reckless  dare-devil,  I  suppose, 
never  trod  the  footstool.  Why,  sir,  when  we  were  but 
boys,  I  have  known  him  spring  upon  a  large  water-wheel 
in  full  motion,  grasp  one  of  its  arms,  with  his  head  towards 
the  circumference,  and  there  remain  till  he  had  been 
dashed  through  the  back-water  beneath,  during  forty 
revolutions !  I  have  known  him,  single-handed,  seize  and 
overcome  a  mad  ox,  which  had  broke  away  from,  and 
nearly  killed  a  dozen  men.  One  or  more  duels  he  has 
fought  abroad ;  while  scores  of  bullies  have  been  cudgelled 
and  conquered  by  him  about  home.  Indeed,  if  one  half 
that  is  told  of  him  is  true,  the  wild  bulls  of  Bashan  had 
not  a  spirit  more  untamable,  nor  scarcely  more  bodily 
strength  to  back  it." 

"  All  that  may  be,  sir,  but  those  who  know  Ethan  Allen 
will  laugh  at  the  very  idea  of  there  being  found  a  man 
in  New  England  who  can  outdo  him  in  feats  of  either 
strength  or  courage.  And  when  they  tell  you,  as  they 
truly  may,  that  they  have  seen  him  bite  off  the  heads  of 
board  nails  by  dozens, — seize  by  his  teeth,  and  throw 
over  his  head,  bags  containing  each  a  bushel  of  salt,  as 
fast  as  two  men  could  bring  them  round  to  him, — grasp 
two  opponents  who  had  beset  him,  one  in  each  hand,  and 
lifting  them  clear  off  the  ground,  hold  them  out  at  arms' 
length,  and  beat  them  together  till  they  cried  for  mercy, 
— engage  alone  with  a  York  sheriff  and  his  posse  of  six 
common  men,  rout  the  whole,  and  leave  them  sprawling 
on  the  ground— you  will  probably  allow  that  such  a  man 
will  not  be  very  likely  to  succumb  to  your  hero.  Let 
this  Arnold  but  offer  to  assume  the  command,  and,  unless 
I  am  sadly  mistaken,  you  "will  see  what  kind  of  stuff  our 
old  Green  Mountain  lion  is  made  of.  But  see  I  the  fellow 
is  beckoning  the  officers  to  approach  him.  Let  us  move  up 
to  the  spot,  and  hear  what  he  has  t-o  offer  on  the  occasion." 

Understanding   and  heeding    the  intimation    of  thf 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS  191 

stranger  officer,  who  was  indeed  no  other  than  Benedict 
Arnold,  afterwards  so  infamously  conspicuous  in  the 
annals  of  our  Revolution,  most  of  the  officers,  including 
Allen,  who  had  dismounted  for  the  purpose,  immediately- 
advanced  and  formed  an  irregular  line  before  him. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  with  a  perfectly  assured  and 
confident  air,  after  waiting  till  all  had  approached  and 
assumed  a  listening  attitude,  "I  am  personally  unknown, 
I  presume,  to  most,  or  all  of  you,  but  having  been  clothed 
with  the  proper  authority,  and  directed  to  proceed  to  this 
place  for  the  purpose,  I  have  the  honor  to  announce  my- 
self to  you  as  the  commander  of  this  expedition;  conse- 
quently it  is  now  my  duty  to  take  charge  of  these  troops." 

"Sir?"  said  Allen,  taking  a  step  in  advance  of  his  fellow- 
officers,  placing  his  arms  akimbo,  and  turning  up  his  ear, 
as  if  the  better  to  catch  the  words  of  the  speaker,  whom 
he  eyed  askance  with  a  look  of  queerly  blended  doubt  and 
scorn:  "Sir!  did  I  hear  aright?  Did  you  say  that  you 
thought  it  your  duty  to  take  charge  of  these  troops?" 

"I  did,  sir,  and  still  so  consider  it,"  replied  Arnold, 
rather  restively. 

"Do  you,  indeed,  sir,"  rejoined  Allen,  with  a  look  of 
cool  derision.  "Then  it  was  altogether  a  mistake  of  mine 
in  supposing  that  the  reverse  of  your  proposition  would 
have  made  out  a  more  probable  case?" 

"I  know  not  what  you  mean,"  said  Arnold,  his  voice 
trembling  with  stifled  anger  at  the  biting  significance  of 
the  other's  remark.  "You  may  learn,  however,  that  I 
am  not  a  person  to  be  trifled  with,  sir." 

"Well,  I  can't  pretend  to  say  what,  or  who  you  are 
not,"  replied  Allen,  waxing  warm,  and  giving  token  of  a 
direct  onset,  "but  I  should  like  to  know  who  the  devil 
you  are,  that  come  here  from  another  colony  to  take  the 
control  of  men  who  now  owe  allegiance  to  no  power  short 
of  that  of  the  God  of  Heaven?" 

"My  name  is  Arnold,"  replied  the  other,  biting  his 
lips  in  suppressed  rage,  "and  I  hold  a  commission  of 
Colonel,  with  the  orders  I  named,  from  the  Massachusetts 
Committeee  of  Safety.  There!  examine  it  for  yourselves!" 
he  added,  pulling  out  a  parchment,  and  disdainfully 
hurling  it  at  their  feet. 


1»2  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

The  roll  was  instantly  picked  up,  and  attentively  ex. 
amined  by  several  of  the  officers;  while  Arnold  stood 
aloof  in  contemptuous  silence,  scarcely  deigning  to  bestow 
a  glance  on  the  company  thus  engaged.  It  indeed 
proved,  as  he  had  stated,  a  Colonel's  commission,  from 
the  source  above  mentioned,  enclosing  another  docu- 
ment, signed  by  the  same  Committee,  authorizing  Arnold 
to  raise  troops  in  Massachusetts,  or  elsewhere,  to  the 
number  of  four  hundred,  and  march  them  for  the  reduc 
tion  of  Ticonderoga. 

"Now,  sir,  where  is  your  commission?  I  should  like 
to  see  it  in  turn,"  said  Arnold,  addressing  Allen,  and 
advancing  with  an  air  of  triumph,  as  soon  as  the  examina- 
tion of  his  credentials,  which  he  supposed  must  silence 
all  further  question  of  the  right  he  had  assumed,  was 
completed. 

"  My  commission  ? "  promptly  replied  Allen,  by  no 
means  disturbed  by  this  unexpected  demand,  though  in 
fact  he  had  no  paper  commission  to  show,  as  the  coun- 
cil appointing  him  had  not  deemed  such  an  instrument 
essential ;  "  where  is  my  commission,  do  you  ask?  There, 
sir ! "  he  continued,  pointing  to  his  troops,  who,  under- 
standing Arnold's  claim  to  take  command  of  them,  al- 
ready began  to  exhibit  visible  tokens  of  displeasure  at 
the  thought  of  having  their  idolized  leader  superseded 
by  a  stranger,  "there,  sir!  there  it  is,  engraven  on  the 
hearts  of  these  two  hundred  and  thirty  Green  Mountain 
Boys!  Trace  it  out  there  for  yourself!  Read  it  in  their 
eyes,  in  every  lineament  of  their  countenances !  And  if 
that  is  not  enough  for  you,  then  ask  them  whether 
Ethan  Allen,  who  is  getting  gray  in  their  service,  is  to 
be  thrust  aside  for  a  commander  whom  they  have  have 
never  before  seen  ?  " 

"  Never !  no,  never ! "  Sercelv  burst  from  a  hundred 
lips  along  the  lines,  while  many  indignantly  threw  down 
their  arms,  and  all,  either  by  word,  look,  or  gesture,  gave 
unequivocal  indication  of  their  determination  to  allow  no 
man  to  usurp  the  place  of  their  chosen  leader. 

The  countenance  of  Arnold,  with  all  his  assurance, 
instantly  fell  at  so  decided,  and,  to  him,  so  unexpected  a 
manifestation  of  the  disposition  of  the  troops ;  and  he 
bit  his  lips  in  vexation  and  mortified  pride  at  his  defeat. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY&  193 

At  this  crisis  of  the  affair,  Warrington,  fearing,  in 
oommon  with  the  other  officers,  that  the  altercation 
might  prove  ruinous  to  the  enterprise,  stepped  forward 
and  interposed.  He  first,  respectfully,  and  in  a  manner 
calculated  to  soothe  the  irritated  feelings  of  Arnold,  set 
forth  the  doubtfulness  of  his  right,  even  under  the  in- 
structions  and  commission  he  had  received,  to  assume 
the  command  of  troops  who  had  not  been  enlisted  by  him, 
but  who  had  volunteered,  without  any  knowledge  of  him 
or  his  instructions,  and  with  the  implied  condition  that 
they  should  be  left  to  the  choice  of  their  own  leaders. 
He  then  appealed  to  him  as  a  gentleman,  a  patriot,  and 
friend  to  the  common  cause,  whether  he  would  do  well 
to  insist  on  his  claim,  since  doing  so,  as  he  must  see, 
would  prove  destructive  of  their  expedition.  This 
courteous  and  well-timed  appeal,  which  opened  a  door  by 
which  Arnold  might  honorably  retreat  from  his  awk- 
wark  position,  seemed  to  produce  on  his  mind  an  in- 
stantaneous effect.  The  dark  and  angry  frown,  which 
had  settled  on  his  countenance,  gave  way  to  a  bright 
and  cheerful  look.  With  one  hand  he  instantly  tore 
the  epaulets  from  his  shoulders,  while,  with  the  other, 
he  drew  his  sword  and  threw  it  on  the  ground,  gallantly 
exclaiming, 

"Gentlemen,  I  most  cheerfully  waive  all  pretensions 
to  the  command,  which  of  right,  I  am  now  convinced, 
belongs  to  the  brave  leader  of  the  far-famed  Green 
Mountain  Boys.      But  as  to  going  with  you  on  this 

glorious  enterprise,  it  is  a  privilege  which,  by ,  I 

won't  relinquish  !  Gentlemen,  will  you  furnish  me  with 
a  common  musket,  and  accept  me  as  a  volunteer  soldier 
of  your  gallant  band  ?" 

Allen  appeared  to  be  taken  completely  aback  by  this 
sudden  declaration  of  Arnold.  His  naturally  forgiving 
and  noble  disposition,  and  quick  feelings,  were  instantly 
touched  with  this  mark  of  magnanimity,  as  unexpected 
to  him,  as  it  was  remarkable  in  the  man,  being  the  most 
striking,  and  perhaps  the  only  instance  of  the  kind,  ever 
displayed  by  this  brave,  but  unprincipled  officer  in  his 
whole  public  career. 

"Done  like  a  man,  by  Jove ! "  exclaimed  the  chivalrous 
leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  advancing  and  cor* 
»3 


194  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

dially  proffering  the  other  his  hand,  while  the  tears  ol 
admiring  and  grateful  emotion  fairly  started  out  on  to  his 
brawny  cheeks.  "  Done  like  a  man  and  a  hero !  Here. 
God  bless  you,  give  us  your  fist !  There  is  about  the 
right  kind  of  stuff  in  you,  after  all,  my  friend.  Will  you 
accept  the  post  of  my  aid-de-camp,  with  the  rank  your 
commission  gives  you?" 

"Most  cheerfully,  sir,"  replied  the  flattered  Arnold, 
waving  his  hand  with  easy  and  grateful  courtesy. 

"  Pick  up  your  sword  and  badges,  then,  sir,"  resumed 
Allen.  "Call  for  your  horse,  and  we  will  now  on  to- 
gether, like  brothers,  in  the  cause  of  God  and  the  people. 
Officers  and  soldiers !  "  he  continued,  in  a  loud  and  cheer- 
ing voice,  that  rung  like  a  deep-toned  trumpet  far  and  wide 
over  field  and  forest  around,  while  he  sprang  upon  his 
impatient  charger,  and  waved  his  sword  on  high;  "pre- 
pare to  march !  Ethan  Allen  still  commands  you.  Peace 
is  in  the  camp,  the  Lord  on  our  side,  and  victory  before 
us  !     Forward,  march ! " 

Three  loud  and  lively  cheers  told  the  satisfaction  of 
the  men  at  this  double  announcement;  and,  in  another 
moment,  the  whole  corps,  wheeling  off  to  the  brisk  and 
stirring  notes  of  shrieking  fife  and  rattling  drum,  were 
sweeping  down  the  road  in  full  march  towards  the 
object  of  their  destination. 

The  route  of  the  troops  was  along  the  military  road 
which,  in  the  French  war  of  1759,  had  been  opened  from 
Charleston,  on  Connecticut  River,  across  the  Green  Moun- 
tains to  Lake  Cham  plain,  by  a  New  Hampshire  regi- 
ment, acting  under  the  orders  of  General  Amherst.  This 
>oad,  leading  directly  through  Castleton,  and  taking  a 
northerly  direction,  branched  off  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  lake,  one  fork  running  down  to  the  shore  opposite  to 
Ticonderoga,  and  the  other  proceeding  onward  to  Crown 
Point.  Although  this,  at  the  period,  was  perhaps  the 
best  road  in  the  settlement,  still  it  was  little  more  than  a 
roughly  cut  path  through  the  wilderness,  abounding,  at 
this  season,  with  deep  sloughs,  fallen  trees  and  other 
obstacles  calculated  to  prevent  much  expedition  in 
travelling.  But  such  was  the  spirit  and  constitutional 
vigor  of  the  men,  that  a  march  of  four  or  five  hours 
brought  them  o>7er  b-alf  the  distance  from  their  late  ren< 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  195 

dezvous  to  their  destined  landing  on  the  lake,  the  former 
place  being  about  thirty  miles  from  the  latter.  They  had 
now,  for  several  miles,  been  passing  through  a  heavy  un- 
broken forest,  and  the  mounted  officers,  riding  a  short  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  the  men,  were  anxiously  looking 
forward  for  a  clearing,  or  some  suitable  place  to  halt  for 
a  midday  refreshment. 

"There!"  said  Allen,  turning  to  his  companions,  as 
the  sound  of  a  falling  tree  came  booming  through  the 
forest  from  a  distance,  "did  you  hear  that?  We  are 
nearly  through  these  endless  woods  at  last,  it  seems." 

"Is  that  so  clearly  proved  by  the  falling  of  a  tree?" 
asked  Arnold,  who  was  but  little  of  a  woodman.  *'  Old 
trees,  I  thought,  like  old  men,  often  fell  without  human 
agency." 

"True,  sir,"  rejoined  Allen,  "but  human  agency 
brought  that  tree  to  the  ground ;  and  it  stood  beside 
some  opening,  too,  or  I  will  agree  to  be  reckoned,  like 
the  prophets  of  old,  without  honor  in  my  own  country." 

"  Colonel  Allen  is  right,"  observed  Warrington.  "  The 
falling  of  a  green  tree  always  produces  a  dull,  heavy, 
lumbering  sound,  such  as  we  just  heard,  occasioned  by 
the  air  it  gathers,  or  more  properly,  perhaps,  disturbs  in 
its  course ;  while  the  sound  of  a  dry  tree  in  falling  is 
sharper,  and  comes  with  a  single  jar  to  the  ear.  That 
this  tree  stood  near  an  opening,  is  sufficiently  evident 
from  the  echoes  that  followed  the  first  sound,  which,  in 
this  flat  land,  could  only  be  produced  by  the  reverberat- 
ing woods-wall  of  an  opening.  Yes,  the  Colonel  is  cor- 
rect :  I  can  now  hear  the  chopper's  blows  quite  distinctly." 

The  falling  of  another  tree  in  the  same  direction  here 
interrupted  the  conversation;  while  the  axeman's  blows 
sounding  in  the  distance  and  in  the  tranquil  medium 
through  which  they  were  conveyed  to  the  ear,  like  the 
ticking  of  a  clock  in  the  stillness  of  night,  could  now 
plainly  be  heard  by  all.  In  two  or  three  moments,  a 
third  tree  came  thundering  to  the  earth.  Another,  and 
yet  another  followed  at  equally  brief  intervals, — the  noise 
attending  each  successive  fall,  as  well  as  that  of  the  fast- 
repeating  dows  of  the  chopper,  who  was  causing  such 
destruction  among  the  sturdy  tenants  of  the  forest,  all 
growing  more  loud  and  distinct  as  the  party  approached. 


196  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"There  must  be  more  than  one  of  them,"  observed 
Colonel  Easton,  "  to  level  so  large  trees  at  that  rapid  rate." 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  Warrington ;  "  the  regular,  and  non- 
interfering  sounds  of  those  blows  indicate  but  one  axe- 
man. You  have  not  witnessed  so  much  of  the  execution 
Df  which  our  Green  Mountain  Boys  are  capable,  as  I 
trust  you  will  within  twenty-four  hours,  Colonel.  At  all 
events,  the  fate  of  a  tree  under  the  sinewy  arms  of  one 
of  them,  is  very  soon  decided." 

"This  fellow,  however,"  remarked  Allen,  "does  in- 
deed, lay  to  it,  with  a  will.  I  think  he  must  make  a 
good  soldier;  and  as  such  he  shall  go  with  us,  if  of  the 
right  way  of  thinking — if  not,  as  a  prisoner ;  for  it  be- 
hooves us  now,  to  know  pretty  well  the  character  of 
every  man  who  is  permitted  to  remain  behind." 

The  party  now  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  man  who  had 
been  the  subject  of  their  conversation.  He  had  made  an 
opening  in  the  forest  of  about  two  acres,  which  he  was 
rapidly  enlarging.  Having  just  levelled  one  large  tree,  he 
was  now  bending  his  tall  frame  in  an  attack  upon  another, 
a  giant  hemlock,  standing  near  the  road,  and  had  struck 
two  or  three  blows,  sending  the  blade  of  his  axe  into  the 
huge  circumference  up  to  the  helve  at  every  stroke ;  when 
the  tramp  of  the  approaching  party  reached  his  ear,  caus- 
ing him  to  suspend  and  look  around  him. 

"  As  I  live,  it  is  Pete  Jones!"  exclaimed  Warrington, 
"just  beginning  upon  his  new  pitch,  which  he  mentioned 
to  us." 

"  Good ! "  said  Allen, "  I  am  glad  we  have  come  across 
the  droll  devil.  But  we  will  furnish  him  with  business  a 
notch  or  two  above  that :  the  Red  Coats  need  leveling  a 
cursed  sight  more  than  the  trees,  at  this  crisis.  If  noth- 
ing more,  he  shall  lend  us  that  everlasting  long  body  of 
his  for  a  ladder  to  scale  the  walls  of  Old  Ti. !  Jupiter! 
if  Frederick  of  Prussia  had  a  regiment  of  such  chaps,  how 
the  fellow  would  brag !  Hallo,  there  !  "  he  added,  dashing 
forward  towards  the  woodsman,  who  stood  gazing  with 
an  expression  of  quizzical  wonder,  now  at  the  approaching 
cavalcade  of  officers  near  by,  and  now  straining  forward 
his  long  neck  to  get  a  view  of  the  lengthened  columns  of 
the  men,  just  beginning  to  make  their  appearance  in  the 
distance. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  197 

"  "Well,  hallo,  it  is,  then,  Colonel,  if  there's  nothing 
better  to  be  said,"  responded  Jones,  after  waiting  an 
instant  to  see  if  the  other  was  going  to  proceed.  "  But 
now  I  think  on't,  Colonel,  where  did  you  get  so  much 
folks?  By  Jehu!  how  they  string  along  yonder!  Why, 
there's  more  than  a  hundred  slew  of  men  coming !  And 
then  what  pokerish-looking  tools  they've  all  got!  Now  I 
wonder  if  they  ain't  a-going  a-visiting  over  to  Old  TL,  or 
gomewheres?" 

"  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  something  of  that  kind 
should  prove  the  ease,"  replied  Allen,  laughing.  "But 
what  are  you  about,  that  you  have  not  joined  us  in  the 
proposed  visit?" 

"  Why,  I  calculate  to  be  about  this  old  hemlock  till  I 
get  it  down,  Colonel." 

"  Nonsense,  you  ninny!  Why  were  you  not  up  to 
Castleton  last  night?" 

"  Now,  don't  fret,  Colonel, — I  did  think  of  it,  honestly ; 
but  knowing  you  must  all  come  this  way,  I  thought  I 
might  as  well  be  making  a  small  beginning  here  till  you 
got  on.  And  so  I  put  in  yesterday  a  little,  and  have  now 
let  in  heaven's  light  on  something  over  two  acres,  I 
calculate.  But  if  you  are  expecting  to  have  pretty  funny 
times  of  it  over  there,  I  don't  much  care  if  I — that  is,  I'll 
think  of  it,  after  I  have  brought  the  top  of  this  old  hem- 
lock a  little  lower " 

"  Your  most  obedient,  Captain  Jones,"  gayly  exclaimed 
Warrington,  now  riding  up. 

"  Captain  of  what  ? "  asked  Jones,  a  little  puzzled  to 
know  whether  he  was  to  receive  this  address  as  a  joke, 
and  let  off  one  of  his  own  in  return,  or  whether  something 
serious  was  intended  by  it:  "Captain  of  what? — of  the 
Surveyor,  that  I  sent  over  the  York  line,  a  day  or  two 
&g°>  DY  a  gentle  touch  with  my  foot  on  his  northerly 
parts  ?  " 

"  No,  seriously  Jones,"  said  Allen,  "  in  organizing,  last 
night,  we  deemed  it  best  to  have  a  small  band  of  scouts, 
of  whom  you  was  fairly  voted  in  the  Captain,  or  Scout- 
master, if  you  like  the  name  better.  No  man  in  the 
settlement  can  go  before  you  in  performing  the  duties  of 
this  post.  Will  you,  without  more  words,  accept  it,  and 
join  us?" 


198  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 

"Can't  you  let  me  stop  to  cut  this  tree  down  first! 
'Twon't  take  scarce  a  minute,  Colonel." 

"  No,  the  men  are  at  hand.  We  did  think  to  find  a 
spot  to  halt  and  dine  here,  but  as  I  see  neither  place  nor 
water,  we  must  on  till  we  find  them.  How  soon  shall  we 
meet  with  such  a  place  ?  " 

"  Let  me  see,  as  the  blind  man  said — Oh !  there  is  a 
jute  little  beauty  of  a  brook,  with  smooth  banks,  that's 
just  your  sort,  not  half  a  mile  ahead." 

"  Fall  in  here  with  the  troops  then.  But  where  is  your 
rifle  ?  " 

"  Hard  by  there,  under  a  log,"  replied  Pete.  "  I'll 
warrant  you  never  catch  me  far  separated  from  old  Trusty, 
with  a  good  store  of  bullets,  to  go  on  such  errands  as  she 
and  I  have  a  mind  to  send  them.  Well,  old  axe,"  he 
added  in  an  undertone,  as  he  took  up  the  implement  to 
which  he  seemed  addressing  himself,  and  carried  it  round 
to  the  back  side  of  the  tree,  "  the  Colonel  thinks  it  best 
that  you  and  I  should  bid  each  other  good-bye,  for  a  short 
time ;  and  there  !  you  may  sit  in  that  nook  between  those 
two  roots  till  I  come  back  again. — 

'  So  now  in  the  wars  I  go,  I  go, 
All  for  to  go  a  sodjering. 

TroLlol,  loldelarly.,»' 

And  thus,  fn  the  prompt  spirit  of  the  times,  and  witb 
the  characteristic  sang-froid  of  the  man,  this  jolly  and 
fearless  woodsman,  drawing  out  his  rifle  from  under  an 
old  log,  and  cheerily  trolling  the  above  quoted  catch  of 
some  homely  old  song,  with  a  chorus  of  his  own  making, 
fell  into  the  ranks  of  the  troops  then  passing,  having  left 
his  favorite  axe,  for  which  he  seemed  to  have  contracted 
a  sort  of  fellow-feeling,  standing  behind  the  tree,  on 
which  we  found  him  engaged,  where  it  was  destined  to 
remain  unregarded  by  its  owner,  dui"ing  a  great  part  of 
the  revolutionary  war  ; — and  where  on  returning,  after 
many  years  of  hardship  and  danger,  spent  in  bravely 
battling  for  his  country's  freedom,  he  found  it,  in  the 
same  place  and  position,  safe  and  uninjured,  except  in 
the  thick  coat  of  rust  that  had  gathered  over  it — an  inci- 
dent of  olden  times,  well  known  as  a  historical  fact  by 
many  in  that  section  of  the  country  where  it  occurred 


TBE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  19? 

The  spot  described  by  Jones  being  found  and  appro- 
priated, the  troops  partook  of  a  dinner  from  the  provis 
ions  of  their  packs,  after  which  they  were  allowed  an 
hour's  rest,  which  was  enlivened,  as  they  were  seated 
along  the  mossy  hanks  of  the  gurgling  rivulet,  with  song, 
tale  and  jest,  till  the  deep  recesses  of  the  forest  rang  witb 
the  sounds  of  their  merriment.  While  the  officers,  whc 
were  seated  in  a  group  by  themselves,  were  consulting 
their  watches,  and  awaiting  the  moment  set  by  them  for 
resuming  their  march,  a  horseman,  approaching  from  the 
west,  suddenly  rode  up,  dismounted,  and  stood  before  them. 
"  Ah  !  Phelps  !  "  exclaimed  Colonel  Allen,  springing 
up  and  shaking  the  new-comer  heartily  by  the  hand, 
"  is  it  possible  ? — a  spy  returned  unhung  from  a  British 
fort  ?  Well,  sir,  what  news  from  the  camp  of  the  Phil- 
istines ?  " 

"Almost  everything  we  could  wish,  gentlemen,"  replied 
the  person  addressed,  a  Connecticut  gentleman  of  consid- 
erable shrewdness  and  address,  who  had  been  despatched 
a  day  or  two  previous  to  go  over  to  the  fort,  enter  it  on 
some  feigned  errand,  and  gain  the  best  knowledge  of  its 
situation  the  circumstances  would  permit.  "I have  been 
within  the  fort — mostly  over  the  works — stayed  there  last 
night,  and  came  away  unsuspected  this  morning." 

Phelps  then  proceeded  to  give  an  account  of  the  man- 
ner he  had  effected  his  discoveries  at  the  fort,  without  ex- 
citing the  suspicions  of  the  garrison,  relative  to  the  object 
of  his  visit — how  in  the  assumed  character  of  a  green  coun- 
try bumpkin,  he  made  it  his  ostensible  errand  to  see  a 
war  cannon,  and  also  the  strange  man  what  shaved  othe. 
men,  called  a  barber — how  the  soldiers  laughed  at  his  pre 
tended  ignorance,  and  the  officers,  coming  to  see  the  green 
Yankee,  amused  themselves  by  questioning  him,  and  list- 
ening to  his  replies,  at  which  they  were  amazingly  tick- 
led, and  then  ordered  a  twenty-four  pounder  to  be  fired, 
for  the  fun  of  witnessing  the  prodigious  fright  into  which 
the  report  appeared  to  throw  him.  And,  finally,  having 
induced  him,  after  many  entreaties,  to  permit  the  barber 
to  shave  him,  how  they  all  stood  by  to  see  the  perform- 
ance, laughing  heartily  at  the  wincing  and  woeful  counte- 
nances he  assumed,  and  the  fears  he  pretended  of  having 
his  tliroat  cut. 


200  THE  GREEN-  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

After  finishing  his  diverting  description  of  this  part 
of  his  adventures,  he  detailed  with  great  accuracy  the 
situation  of  the  fortress,  the  names  and  grades  of  the 
officers,  and  the  number  of  the  garrison. 

"  But  gentlemen,"  said  he,  in  conclusion,  "  there  is  one 
question  which  I  will  no  longer  delay  to  ask  you.  Have 
you  made'  provision  for  boats  to  transport  the  troops 
across  the  lake  ?  There  is  not  a  single  craft  larger  than 
a  skiff  on  this  side,  just  now,  within  ten  miles  of  the 
fort." 

"  God  forgive  me  the  oversight  I  "  exclaimed  Allen. 
"We  must  instantly  set  measures  on  foot  for  repairing 
it  Douglass — Lieutenant  Douglass,  step  forward  here 
a  moment!  What  boats  are  there  this  side  the  lake  to 
the  north  of  this  ?  " 

"  An  excellent  scow  for  our  purpose  is  owned  by  the 
Smiths,  a  few  miles  this  side  of  Crown  Point,"  replied 
the  blue-eyed  and  broad-shouldered  descendant  of  his 
Caledonian  namesakes,  stepping  promptly  forward,  and 
comprehending  at  a  glance  the  emergency  that  produced 
the  question. 

"  The  Smiths  ?  Good !  They  are  with  us,  too,  in  heart, 
and  should  be  also  in  person,"  rejoined  the  Colonel. 
"Well,  their  scow  we  must  have  at  all  events.  And  you, 
Douglass,  are  the  very  man  to  go  and  get  it.  Will  you 
doit?" 

"  I  am  the  very  man  who  is  willing  to  try,  Colonel 
Allen,"  answered  the  other. 

"  And  can  you  reach  the  landing  against  Ti.  with  it 
Dy  nine  o'clock  this  evening?" 

"  Hardly,  I  fear.  It  is  nearly  a  dozen  miles  ;  but  I'll  do 
my  best,  Colonel." 

"  Go,  then,  as  if  the  devil  kicked  yon  on  end.  The 
salvation  of  our  project  may  depend  upon  your  getting 
Oack  in  season.  But  stay !  We  must  have  more  boats 
than  one.  To  the  south,  I  know  of  none.  Perhaps  you 
may  meet  with  some  going  up  or  down  the  lake,  which 
might  be  pressed  into  the  service  ;  or,  as  the  last  resort, 
one  might  possibly  be  got  away  from  Crown  Point  with- 
out a  discovery  which  would  endanger  us.  Another 
man,  however,  will  be  wanted  for  any  of  these  purposes, 
besides  the  oarsmen  you  will  pick  up  on  your   way. 


1UE  GIIEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  201 

And — Jones!  this  way  :  Have  you  heard  what  we  are 
at  ?  Very  well.  You  are  just  the  chap  to  go  on  this 
hap-hazard  errand.  What  say  you  ?  Can  you  bring  any- 
thing to  pass  if  we  send  you  ?  " 

"Why,  I  can't  exactly  say,  Colonel,"  replied  Jones, 
placing  his  feet  astride,  and  looking  up  with  one  eye 
queerly  cocked  on  his  interrogator,  while  the  other  was 
tightly  closed  :  "  I  ain't  so  much  of  a  water-fowl  as 
some;  but,  perhaps,  I  mought  make  fetch  Come  a  little." 

"Pack  up,  then,  and  be  off  with  Douglass  in  two 
minutes ;  and  remember,  both  of  you,  if  you  fail  us " 

"Then  what?"  asked  Jones,  suddenly  stopping  and 
looking  back,  "  I  don't  calculate  to  be  over  particular, 
Colonel,  but  if  it  wouldn't  be  too  much  trouble,  I  should 
like  to  know  that,  before  we  start." 

«  You  shall  be  doomed  to  sit  forty  days  and  nights  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes,"  humorously  said  Allen. 

"By  Jonah!"  exclaimed  Pete,  "the  boats  shall  be 
there  by  the  time,  Colonel !  " 

While  the  latter  part  of  this  dialogue  was  going  on, 
Warrington  stood  with  his  back  to  the  company,  with 
one  foot  on  a  log,  busily  engaged  in  writing  with  his 
pencil  on  a  blank  leaf,  torn  from  his  pocket-book  and 
placed  on  his  knee. 

"Aha!  my  lad,"  said  Allen,  in  a  playful  undertone,  as 
he  approached  the  former,  and  significantly  placed  one 
finger  on  his  shoulder,  "  more  faith  now,  than  when  we 
two  were  lying  on  the  hay,  in  the  Captain's  barn,  wait- 
ing for  our  rifles,  eh  ?  " 

"I  really  wish  you  would  mind  your  own  business, 
Colonel,"  replied  Warrington,  with  affected  anger. 

"  Well,  well,"  resumed  Allen,  laughing,  "  send  it,  my 
boy.  Mars,  they  say,  never  prospers  so  well  as  when  he 
has  Cupid  in  his  train,  in  any  case.  But  with  such  a 
piece  of  God's  handiwork  as  yours  to  incite  to  action 
— heavens!  if  the  knights  of  old  had  been  blest  with 
such  lady-loves,  they  would  never  have  needed  to  carry 
half  a  hundred  weight  of  old  iron  on  their  lubberly  car- 
casses to  make  them  heroes." 

Stripping  off  their  coats  to  fit  them  for  a  rapid  march, 
these  athletic  and  resolute  woodsmen  now  seized  their 
rifles,  took  a  glance  at  the  sun  for  a  hasty  calculation 


202  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 

of  the  bearing  of  the  course  to  be  taken  to  lead  them 
to  their  proposed  destination,  and,  plunging  into  the 
woods,  were  soon  lost  to  the  sight  of  their  companions. 

A  small  guard  was  then  sent  on  in  advance,  with 
orders  to  pick  up  and  detain  every  man  on  the  road,  not 
m  the  secret  of  the  expedition.  Scouts  to  range  the 
woods  on  the  right  and  left,  were  also  dispatched  for  the 
same  purpose;  after  which  the  main  body  of  th3  force* 
quietly  resumed  their  march  for  the  lake. 


CHAPTER  H. 

"  There  are  strange  movements  among  all  the  troop, 

And  no  one  knows  the  same." 

Leaving  Allen  and  his  companions  in  arms  to  make 
their  way  to  the  lake  shore,  we  will  now,  by  way  of  mark- 
ing the  progress  of  the  two  active  foresters,  who  had 
been  despatched  northward  tor  boats,  change  the  scene, 
for  a  short  time,  to  the  quiet  residence  of  Captain  Hendee. 

It  was  a  little  past  sunset  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on 
which  the  events  last  described  transpired.  It  had  been 
a  day  of  unusual  stillness  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Grants.  The  lively  sounds  of  the  plying  axemen,  which 
were  usually  heard  ringing  through  the  forests  in  every 
direction,  were  all  hushed.  The  women  went  a  visiting 
and  were  seen  to  whisper  in  the  corners  apart  from  the 
children.  The  boys  finished  their  tasks  by  noon,  and  for 
the  remainder  of*  the  day  were  sauntering  round  the 
brooks  with  their  fishing-poles.  All  the  active  men  had 
disappeared;  though  no  one  mentioned  aloud  the  cause 
of  their  absence.  And  a  sort  of  Sabbath-day  quiet  and 
inaction  seemed  to  prevail  over  all  this  section  of  the 
settlement.  Captain  Hendee  was  sitting  in  his  open 
door,  enjoying,  as  usual,  his  evening  pipe,  and  wrapped 
in  that  placid  and  contemplative  mood  to  which  this 
indulgence  generally  disposes.  His  daughter  was  seated 
near  him  at  a  window,  in  an  altitude  equally  calm  and 
contemplative,  though  engrossed  with  reflections,  prob- 
ably, of  a  far  different  nature :  for  her  fair  white  hand 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  203 

rested  on  a  small  volume  lying  on  the  window-sill  before 
her,  opened  upon  those  heart- melting  strains  of  the 
hapless  Eloise,  which  Pope,  that  master  of  rhyme  and 
marrer  of  reason,  sung  with  such  seductive  sweetness ; 
and  her  tear-moistened  eye  was  fixed,  pensively  and 
unobservant,  on  the  slumbering  waters  of  the  outspread 
lake;  while  occasionally  a  gentle  sigh,  betokening  the 
inward  conflicts  of  hope  and  fear,  was  heaving  her  snowy 
bosom.  While  the  father  and  daughter  were  thus  seated, 
and  their  minds  thus  absorbed  in  their  different  trains  of 
reflection,  their  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the 
sounds  of  advancing  footsteps. 

"By  all  the  saints  in  the  calendar!"  exclaimed  the 
Captain,  after  gazing  an  instant  in  surprise  at  the 
striking  proportions  of  our  young  Anak  of  the  woods, 
for  it  was  no  other  than  Pete  Jones,  who,  at  the  distance 
of  eight  or  ten  rods,  was  now  seen  stalking  towards  the 
house,  "  what  a  cloud-brusher  is  there,  Alma!  Can  you 
imagine  who  he  may  be  ?  " 

"  No,  father,"  replied  Alma,  who  was  also  looking  at 
the  approaching  visitor  with  an  expression  of  mingled 
wonder  and  curiosity  ;  "  but  I  just  noticed  that  Young 
Tyler  and  Wilcox  of  this  neighborhood  passed  beyond 
the  barn  yonder,  and  I  conclude  that  this  man  is  some 
friend  of  theirs.  They  are  probably  all  going  on  some 
fishing  excursion.  The  man,  I  presume,  wishes  to  get  a 
little  fire  for  this  purpose." 

By  this  time  Jones  had  reached  the  door  in  which  the 
Captain  was  sitting. 

"Good-evening!  Will  you  walk  in,  sir?"  said  the 
latter  in  an  indifferent  tone,  and  without  moving,  as  if 
he  expected  the  other  would  decline  the  invitation,  and 
announce  his  errand  at  his  door, 

«  Why,  yes,  I  may  as  well,"  replied  Jones,  offering  to 
pass  in  without  appearing  to  notice  the  hesitating  and 
inquiring  look  of  the  Captain,  who  now  at  once  yielded 
the  space  to  his  guest. 

"  You  see  I  was  bred  to  manners,"  continued  the 
woodsman,  jocosely  bowing,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  enter 
the  door. 

The  Captain,  smiling  good-naturedly  at  the  remark, 
handed  Jones  a  chair,  took  another  himself,  and  waited 


204  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY&. 

in  silence,  and  with  the  same  expectant  air  as  before,  lot 
the  stranger  to  name  his  business.  This,  however,  Jones 
did  not  seem  ready  to  make  known,  but  continued  sit- 
ting in  silence,  with  a  puzzled  and  undecided  air,  as  if 
greatly  at  loss  what  to  say,  or  how  to  bring  about  some 
object  he  had  in  view,  now  glancing  at  the  Captain,  now 
at  the  different  objects  about  the  room,  and  now  at  Miss 
Hendee,  on  whom  his  eyes  lingered  with  an  expression 
of  unfeigned  admiration. 

"Very  fine  weather,  this,"  remarked  the  Captain,  by 
way  of  breaking  the  silence,  which  he  seemed  to  think 
was  becoming  a  little  awkward. 

"  Very ;  considering  the  times,  and  the  state  of  the 
nation,"  responded  Pete,  dryly,  and  with  the  manner  of 
one  who  would  show  that  he  is  too  busy  in  thought  to 
engage  in  conversation. 

The  Captain  then  made  some  other  commonplace 
observation,  which  met  with  no  reply  of  any  kind ;  when 
finding  himself  thus  defeated  in  every  attempt  to  draw 
the  other  into  conversation,  and  tired  of  waiting  for 
him  to  name  his  errand,  he  withdrew  his  attention,  and 
sunk  into  his  own  reveries. 

After  Jones  had  sat  a  while  longer  chewing  his  cud  of 
perplexity,  a  change  appeared  suddenly  to  come  over  him 
A  flash  of  intelligence  and  decision  lit  up  his  counte- 
nance. And  after  dropping  his  head  an  instant,  as  if 
settling  the  details  of  a  plan  which  he  appeared  to  have 
hit  upon,  he  slowly  drew  up  his  features  into  a  sober 
and  troubled  air,  and  began  to  catch  his  breath,  and 
shiver  all  over,  like  a  man  taken  with  an  ague  fit.  He 
then  rose,  tottled  across  the  floor  to  the  hearth,  raked 
open  the  fire  and  spread  his  shaking  hands  over  the 
coals,  at  the  same  time  attempting  to  speak  as  he  ob- 
served the  eyes  of  the  Captain  and  his  daughter  were 
turned  upon  him  with  a  look  of  lively  concern. 

"O  nev — never  mind!" — he  said,  articulating  with 
great  apparent  difficulty,  in  his  attempt  to  quiet  their 
alarm, — "  'twill  s — s — soon  be  o — o — over  now — though 
the — the — these  swamp  ag — ag — agues  are  bad  while  they 
last.  You,  you  don't— keep  great  fires— here — I — I — I 
see." 

"  We  will  have  one  in  a  moment,  my  friend,"  said  the 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  i>05 

Captain,  leaping  up  at  this  hint,  and  hobbling  out  of 
doors  after  wood,  with  unwonted  activity. 

No  sooner  was  the  old  gentleman  fairly  out  of  sight 
than  Jones's  malady  entirely  disappeared.  He  quickly 
drew  out  a  billet,  and  turning,  tossed  it  into  the  lap  of 
the  astonished  Miss  Hendee. 

"Here,  mum,"  said  he,  in  a  low,  confidential  tone, 
"  there's  no  time  to  be  polite ;  but  read  that,  and  if  you 
want  to  scrabble  off  two  lines,  or  so,  in  answer,  contrive 
to  get  it  into  my  old  hat  there  on  the  table,  in  almost  no 
time,  as  I'm  in  a  taking  of  a  hurry.  But  stay,  where's 
the  Indian?" 

"  He  has  gone  to  take  a  letter  from  me  to  Major  Skene's 
colored  man,  now  lying  with  his  boat  down  here  at  the 
landing,  I  believe,"  replied  the  blushing  girl,  already  on 
her  way  to  her  apartment  to  read  and  answer  the  billet, 
which  a  glance  at  the  handwriting  told  her  was  from 
her  accepted  lover. 

" That's  lucky,"  said  Jones ;  "now  I  want  that  chap  to 
go  with  us.  We  have  got  a  trifling  chore  to  do  to-night 
somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  Old  Ti.  Had  I  better 
speak  to  the  old  gentleman  about  his  going  or  not?" 

"My  father  should  be  consulted,  and  yet" — answered 
Alma,  hesitating  lest  the  suggested  application  to  Captain 
Hendee  might  in  some  way  lead  to  a  discovery  of  her 
own  secret — "  I  heard  him  promise  Neshobee's  services  to 
Colonel  Allen  for  such  an  emergency.  Perhaps  you  had 
better  consult  no  one  but  Neshobee  himself,  and  if  he  is 
willing  to  go,  I  will  stand  his  friend  in  defending  the 
delinquency,  if  such  it  be." 

Captain  Hendee  now  returned  with  the  wood,  and 
found  Pete's  ague  much  as  he  left  it.  But  as  the  fire 
blazed  up  from  the  light  combustibles  which  had  been 
thrown  on  to  it,  the  attack  seemed  gradually  to  subside. 
Meanwhile,  Alma  had  retired,  read  the  brief  outpouring 
of  her  lover's  heart,  and  penned  in  answer — 

"  From  my  heart  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  note.  All 
as  yet  remains  undiscovered, — painful,  painful  exigency ! 
which  compels  concealment  of  so  important  a  step  from 
an  only  parent!  And  yet  I  regret  not  my  troth;  and 
whatever  of  sorrow  it  may  cost  me,  I  will  not  repine  at 


206  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

the  fruit  of  a  tree  of  my  own  planting.  Heaven  preserve 
you,  my  very  dear  friend,  in  the  hour  of  peril,  and  crown 
with  success  your  efforts  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

"  Yours,  but  too  truly, 

"A.  H." 

By  the  time  Alma  had  completed  her  note,  and  man- 
aged, on  her  return  to  the  room,  to  slip  it,  unobserved, 
into  the  designated  place  of  deposit,  Jones  had  so  far  re- 
covered from  his  pretended  indisposition,  that  he  an- 
nounced himself  in  a  condition  for  proceeding  on  his  way. 
And  taking  a  coal  of  fire  between  a  couple  of  chips,  by 
way  of  accounting  to  the  Captain  for  his  call,  and  stop- 
ping a  moment  to  listen  to  the  sage  nostrums  recom- 
mended by  his  host  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  his  ague, 
he  departed,  and  joined  his  two  newly  enlisted  associates, 
who  were  impatiently  awaiting  his  coming  in  the  adjoin- 
ing field.  It  being  now  sufficiently  dusk  to  prevent  all 
observation  from  the  opposite  garrison,  they  proceeded 
immediately  to  the  landing,  which  they  found  guarded 
by  two  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who,  making  fishing  their 
ostensible  business,  had,  in  pursuance  of  the  arrangement 
before  mentioned,  closely  watched  the  place  during  the 
two  preceding  days.  Here,  also,  they  met  Neshobee, 
who  had  just  returned  in  a  skiff,  from  Major  Skene's 
scow,  in  possession,  as  before  intimated,  of  a  stout  negro, 
who,  with  two  low,  sottish  fellows  under  his  command, 
having  spent  that  day  at  the  fort  to  take  in  some  load- 
ing, and  visit  the  soldiers  previous  to  starting  for  home, 
as  they  intended  to  do,  the  next  morning,  had  come  over 
just  at  night  and  taken  a  fishing  station  near  the  landing. 
Jones  and  his  companions  hesitated  not  to  open  their 
project  of  obtaining  this  boat  to  Neshobee,  who  very 
cheerfully  agreed  to  co-operate  with  them  in  duping  the 
negro,  and  to  assist  in  rowing  the  boat  up  to  the  landing, 
where  they  were  to  be  met  by  Allen's  forces.  The  boat 
was  lying  about  a  dozen  rods  from  the  shore;  and  black 
Jack,  as  he  was  called,  and  his  men,  having  pulled  up 
their  anchor,  were  now  on  the  point  of  putting  back  for 
the  fort  when  the  party  on  shore,  their  plan  of  operations 
being  all  arranged,  hailed  the  black  commander,  and 
desired  him  to  haul  up  to  the  landing. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  207 

•'Who  the  debil  you,  who  want  me  do  all  dat  tor  not. 
ting?"  replied  Jack,  in  a  swaggering,  consequential  tone. 

"O,  pull  up  to  the  shore,"  said  Wilcox,  "there  are 
three  or  four  of  us  here  who  are  wishing  to  make  a  bar. 
gain  with  you." 

"  Bargain,  hey  ?  you  shackaroons,  you !  You  tin k  for 
play  some  dehlish  trick,  don't  you?  Guess  you  find  out 
you  no  catch  weazel  sleep  so  easy  as  all  dat  come  to !  " 
responded  the  negro,  chuckling  at  his  own  wit  and  sa- 

gacity. 

"  No,  now,  honestly,  Captain  Jack,"  rejoined  the  first 
speaker,  "we  want  to  go  to  Shoreham  landing  to-night, 
to  be  ready  to  join  a  wolf-hunt  which  they  are  going  to 
start  there  early  to-morrow  morning." 

"Gosh  all  firelock!"  exclaimed  the  black,  whose 
opinion  of  his  own  importance  was  greatly  raised  by 
being  addressed  as  Captain  :  "You  tink  I  row  my  boat 
all  de  way  op  dar  in  de  dark  jest  for  'commodate  you? 
No !  see  you  all  dam  fus  ! " 

"  Now  you  are  too  bad,  Captain  ;  but  you  won't  damn 
our  jug  of  old  Jamaica,  that  we  intended  to  offer  you  for 
carrying  us  up  there,  will  you?"  said  the  other,  taking  a 
jug  from  under  his  coat  and  swinging  it  over  his  head, 
sothat  the  black,  whose  taste  for  liquor  was  well  known 
to  the  young  men,  might  catch  a  view  of  it  in  the  twi- 
light. 

"  What  you  say,  dere ! "  eagerly  said  Jack  stretching 
forward  his  neck  to  see,  and  make  sure  of  the  existence 
of  the  tempting  implement. 

"  We  say,"  replied  the  former,  "  that  here  is  a  gallon  of 
as  good  rum  as  ever  run  down  your  throat,  which  is  at 
your  service,  if  you  will  close  the  bargain.  Come,  give  us 
your  answer,  for  if  we  can't  make  a  trade  with  you,  we 
must  be  off  for  a  boat  somewhere  else.  What  say  you? 
—and  mind  ye,  we  will  lend  you  a  stiff  hand  at  the  oars 
to  boot." 

"You  help  row  de  boat,  you  say?"  answered  Jack,  in 
an  altered  and  yielding  tone.  "  Why  de  debil  you  no  say 
so 'fore?  Dat  be  a  case  dat  alter  de  circumstance.  You 
werry  much  to  blame,  gemmen,  dat  you  no  mention  so 
'portant  a  difference  in  fus  place,"  added  the  negro,  while 
he  and  his  men  headed  round  the  boat,  and  handled  the 


208  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  80FS. 

oars  with  such  effect  that  nearly  the  next  moment  she 
was  lying  at  the  landing. 

Within  five  minutes  from  this  time,  the  magic  jug, 
which  had  effected  such  a  wonderful  change  in  the  aspect 
of  affairs,  having  been  well  tested  in  the  meanwhile  by 
Jack  and  his  associates,  all  hands  were  stript  and  bending 
to  the  oars  of  the  old  scow,  which,  under  the  forceful 
strokes  of  Jones  and  his  party,  aided  by  the  rum-power 
of  Jack's  two  besotted  boatmen,  was  surging  through  the 
waters  towards  the  south,  as  fast  as  their  united  strength 
would  drive  her. 

They  were  soon  met,  however,  by  puffs  of  south  wind, 
against  which  they  found  it  impossible  to  make  but  a  very 
slow  headway.  And  it  was  not  till  considerable  past  mid- 
night that  they  came  to  the  last  reach,  and  hove  in  sight 
of  "the  destined  landing.  But  here,  overhauling  Douglass 
with  the  other  scow,  and  the  party  he  had  enlisted  to  help 
man  it,  both  boats,  with  renewed  efforts  of  rival  speed, 
pushed  forward  for  the  appointed  shore. 

"  Boat  ahoy  ! "  called  out  Allen  from  the  landing,  where, 
as  the  boats  neared  the  place,  his  huge,  tower-like  form, 
rising  in  bold  relief  over  the  stationary  group  of  officers 
around  him,  could  now  plainly  be  discerned  by  the  ap- 
proaching crews:  "boat  ahoy!  who  comes  there?" 

"  Douglass  and  friends,  in  this,"  was  the  reply  from  the 
first  boat,  coming  in  about  its  length  in  advance  of  the 
other. 

"And  who  in  the  next?"  asked  Allen. 

"Jones  and  a  thunder  cloud!"  responded  the  well- 
known  voice  of  the  jolly  woodsman.  "  Now  you  needn't 
think  I  am  fibbing,  Colonel;  for  you  will  see  it  lighten 
when  we  get  ashore." 

"  All  is  well,  then,"  said  Allen,  without  heeding  the  re- 
marks of  Jones,  further  than  his  announcement  of  himself 
with  a  boat,  "all  is  well,  and  glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
that  you  have  got  here  at  last !  I  thought  you  would 
never  come.  Why,  it  has  been  an  age  since  dark !  Some 
old  sun-stopping  Joshua  must  be  lighting  on  the  other 
side  of  the  earth,  or,  I  swear,  it  would  have  been  daylight 
long  ago ! " 

By  this  time  the  first  boat  had  struck  the  shore,  and 
the  crew,  leaping  out,  were  ail  readily  recognized  by  the 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  209 

leader,  who  then  turned  to  the  other  boat,  at  that  instant 
driving  up,  with  the  astonished  and  frightened  negro  (now 
for  the  first  time  mistrusting  a  trick),  gibbering  and  sput- 
tering aloud, — 

"  What  de  hell  all  dis  ? — who  all  dese?  what  pretty  dam 
scrape  you  got  me  into  here,  you  shackaroon  debils  you  ?  " 

"  What  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  black  and  red  have 
you  got  here,  Jones?"  cried  Allen,  in  surprise,  stepping 
up  and  peering  into  the  boat,  on  hearing  Jack's  exclama- 
tions. 

"  Why,  just  what  I  told  you,  Colonel.  Here!  don't  you 
see  it  lighten,  now?"  said  Pete,  pointing  to  the  negro's 
eyes,  which,  glaring  wide  with  fear  and  astonishment,  at 
what  he  saw  and  heard,  glimmered  like  fire-bugs  in  the 
dark.  "But  the  English  of  it  is,  Colonel,  that  we  came 
across  Major  Skene's  scow,  commanded  by  Captain 
Darkey,  with  his  two  oarsmen,  here,  who  for  a  gallon  of 
rum  were  kind  enough  to  bring  us  along  to  join  a  hunting 
match  at  Shoreham,  where  we  have  now  arrived,  safe  and 
sound:"  he  continued,  turning  to  the  black,  "  So  now, 
Captain  Jack,  you  have  fulfilled  your  bargain  with  us; 
and  we  have  nothing  more  to  say,  as  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned. If  these  rough-looking  chaps  here  want  to  em- 
ploy you  further,  they  will  let  you  know  it,  likely." 

"  Jones,  you  deserve  a  pension  for  life ! "  exclaimed 
Allen  comprehending  the  whole  affair  in  an  instant. 
"  You  and  your  friends  here  have  killed  more  birds  with 
one  stone  than  you  dreamed  of  yourselves,  perhaps.  But 
we  have  not  a  moment  to  lose,  so  leap  out,  my  lads.  And 
as  to  Major  Skene's  boat,  it  is  my  lawful  prize  ;  and  Major 
Skene's  negro,  and  Major  Skene's  negro's  understrappers 
here,  are  all  my  prisoners !  " 

"  O,  no,  totally  unpossible  to  stop,  gemmen  ! "  said  Jack, 
in  a  good  lord,  good  devil  sort  of  tone,  being  doubtful 
whether  they  really  intended  to  make  him  prisoner,  or 
engage  him  and  his  boat  to  carry  them  to  some  other 
place :  "  I  have  provision  for  de  Major's  family  aboard, 
dey  all  out  ob  supply  for  dere  necessity.  Quite  unpossi- 
ble, gemmen." 

"  We  will  take  care  of  the  provisions.  So  out  with  you 
in  no  time,  you  black  Satan!  "  said  Allen,  impatiently. 

"  O,  it  be  out  ob  all  question  I  stop ! "  persisted  the 
14 


210  1BE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

negro  with  increasing  alarm,  "I  have  odder  'portant 
business — I  have  letter  from  de  young  leddy  at  Captain 
Hendee's  to  de  young  leddy  ob  Colonel  Reed  at  de  Majors 
dat  I  oblige  for  deliver,  early  in  the  morning." 

"We  will  undertake  the  delivery  of  the  letter,"  said 
Selden  and  Warrington,  simultaneously. 

"Tumble  them  out,  boys!"  sternly  exclaimed  Allen. 

"  O,  Lordy,  I  den  be  ruin  !  totally,  foreber  ruin  !  * 
groaned  the  distressed  and  frightened  black,  as  the  men 
seized  him  and  his  two  drunken  associates,  and  led  them 
to  the  rear  to  be  put  under  guard. 

The  boats  were  now  instantly  headed  round,  the  oars 
muffled,  careful  oarsmen  selected  and  placed  in  their 
seats  ;  when,  after  each  boat  had  been  filled  with  as  many 
troops  as  their  respective  burthens  would  safely  permit, 
they  pushed  off  from  the  shore,  preceded  a  short  hailing 
distance  by  a  skiff,  occupied  by  Allen  and  Arnold,  with 
Phelps  to  pilot  them  to  their  contemplated  landing,  on 
the  opposite  shore.  The  wind  had  some  time  since  died 
wholly  away  ;  and  the  elements  were  now  all  hushed,  as 
if  in  the  slumbers  of  death*;  while  the  deeply  freighted 
crafts  glided  slowly  on,  impelled  by  the  light  dip  of  the 
feathery  oars,  which,  in  the  hands  of  the  experienced  and 
careful  men  who  plied  them,  unitedly  rose  and  fell  as 
noiseless  as  the  feet  of  fairies  on  beds  of  flowers.  At 
length  the  dark,  massy  walls  of  the  fortress,  looming  up, 
and  marking  their  broad  outlines  against  the  western 
sky,  became  discernible  to  the  men.  And  yet,  as  they 
drew  near  these  frowning  walls,  pierced  by  a  hundred 
cannon,  over  which,  for  aught  they  knew,  the  lighted 
matches  were  suspended,  awaiting  but  the  signal  to  send 
their  iron  showers  of  death  to  every  man  of  their  devoted 
band,  no  misgivings,  no  weak  relentings  came  over  them; 
but  at  a  moment  like  this,  and  that  which  followed  at 
the  onset, — moments,  furnishing,  perhaps,  a  more  un- 
doubted test  of  courage  than  those  of  the  half  frantic, 
half  mechanical  charges  of  the  disciplined  legions  of 
Napoleon,  at  the  later  fields  of  Austerlitz  and  Marengo — 
at  a  moment  like  this,  we  say,  their  stout  hearts,  nothing 
daunted  at  the  dangers  before  them,  beat  high  and  proudly 
at  the  thought  of  the  coming  encounter,  and  with  stern 
determination  gleaming  in  every  eye,  and  with  the  low 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  211 

whispered  words  of  impatience  for  the  moment  of  action 
to  arrive,  they  moved  steadily  on  to  the  daring  pur- 
pose. 

Passing  down  obliquely  by  the  works,  they  landed 
some  distance  to  the  north  of  them.  The  instant  they 
touched  the  shore  the  troops  leaped  on  the  banks ;  and 
scarcely  had  the  last  foot  been  lifted  from  the  boats  be- 
fore they  were  backed,  wheeled,  and  on  their  return  for 
another  load,  leaving  those  on  shore  to  await  in  silence 
the  arrival  of  a  reinforcement  from  their  companions  left 
behind,  before  marching  to  the  onset.  Those  companions, 
however,  were  not  destined  to  share  in  the  glory  of  this 
splendid  achievement  of  the  eighty  Green  Mountain  Boys 
who  had  landed ;  for  in  a  few  moments,  to  the  dismay 
of  Allen,  the  faint  suffusions  of  dawning  day  became 
visible  in  the  east.  Cursing  the  luck  which  had  caused 
such  delays,  and  chafing  like  a  chained  lion  held  back 
from  his  prey,  that  impetuous  leader  for  a  few  moments 
rapidly  paced  the  shore  before  his  men,  in  an  agony  of 
impatience — now  casting  an  eager  look  at  the  fort,  still 
silent  and  undisturbed,  now  straining  his  vision  after  the 
receding  boats,  which,  to  him,  seemed  to  move  like  snails 
across  the  waters,  and  now  throwing  an  uneasy  glance  at 
the  reddening  east,  whose  twilight  glow,  growing  broader 
and  brighter  every  instant,  plainly  told  him  that  before 
another  detachment  of  troops  could  arrive,  his  forces 
would  be  discovered,  and  the  enterprise,  in  all  proba- 
bility, would  thus  be  defeated.  Maddened  at  the  thought, 
he  stopped  short  in  his  walk,  paused  an  instant,  and 
brought  his  foot  with  a  significant  stamp  to  the  ground, 
showing  that  his  resolution  was  taken.  And  quickly 
calling  out  Jones  and  Neshobee,  he  despatched  them  to 
go  forward,  cautiously  reconnoitre  the  fort  on  all  sides, 
and  return  as  speedily  as  possible  to  report  their  discov. 
eries.  He  then  formed  his  men  in  three  ranks  and  ad- 
dressed them. 

"You  see,  my  friends  and  fellow-soldiers,"  he  com- 
menced, pointing  his  sword  towards  the  east,  "  that  day- 
light will  reveal  us  to  the  enemy  before  a  reinforcement 
can  possibly  arrive.  But  can  you,  who  have  so  long 
been  the  scourge  of  tyrants,  bring  your  minds  to  relin- 
quish the  noble  enterprise,  and  with  it  the  proud  name 


212  THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

you  have  achieved,  by  turning  your  backs  on  the  glorious 
prize,  when  it  is  now  almost  within  your  grasp?" 

He  paused  for  a  reply ;  when  "  No !  no !  no  !  '*  raa 
through  the  lines  in  eager  responses. 

"  1  see,  I  see,  my  brave  fellows,"  resumed  the  gratified 
leader,  "I  see  what  you  would  do.  I  read  it  in  youi 
deeply  breathed  tones  of  determination — in  your  quick 
and  short-drawn  respirations,  and  in  your  restless  and 
impatient  movements.  But  have  you  all  well  considered  't 
I  now  propose  to  lead  you  through  yonder  gate;  and  I 
fear  not  to  tell  men  of  your  stamp,  that  we  incur  no 
small  hazard  of  life  in  the  attempt.  And,  as  I  would 
urge  no  man  to  engage  against  his  own  free  will,  I  now 
give  free  and  full  permission  to  all,  who  choose,  to 
remain  behind.  You,  therefore,  who  will  voluntarily 
accompany  me,  poise  your  guns." 

Every  man's  gun  was  instantly  brought  to  a  poise,  with 
a  motion  which  told  with  what  good  will  it  was  made. 

"God  bless  you,  my  noble  fellows!"  exclaimed  Allen, 
proudly,  and  with  emotion  :  "  Courage  like  that " — he 
continued,  in  tones  of  concentrated  energy,  "  courage 
like  that,  with  hearts  of  oak,  and  nerves  of  steel  like 
yours,  must,  will,  and,  by  the  help  of  the  God  of  hosts, 
shall  triumph  !  Come  on,  then  !  follow  me — march  while 
I  march — run  and  rush  when  I  set  the  example  ;  and  if 
I  fall,  still  rush  on,  and  over  me,  to  vengeance  and  vic- 
tory !     To  the  right  wheel !  march  !  " 

When  the  band  arrived  within  about  a  furlong  of  the 
ramparts,  they  were  met  by  the  scouts,  who  reported 
that  all  was  quiet  in  and  about  the  fort,  while  the  open 
gate  was  guarded  only  by  one  sluggish  and  sleepy-looking 
sentinel.  Halting  no  longer  than  was  necessary  to  hear 
this  report,  Allen,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  cen- 
tre column,  silently  waved  his  sword  to  the  troops  as  a 
signal  for  resuming  the  march  ;  when  they  all  again 
moved  forward  with  rapid  but  cautious  steps  towards  the 
guarded  gateway.  And  so  noiseless  and  unexpected  was 
their  approach,  that  they  came  within  twenty  paces  of 
the  entrance  before  they  were  discovered  by  the  drowsy 
sentry,  who  was  slowly  pacing  to  and  fro,  with  shouldered 
musket,  before  it.  Turning  round  with  a  start,  the 
aroused  soldier  glared  an  instant  at  the  advancing  array,  io 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  213 

mute  astonishment  and  alarm  ;  when  he  hastily  cocked, 
and  levelled  his  piece  at  Allen,  who  was  striding  towards 
him,  several  yards  in  advance  of  his  men.  It  was  an  in- 
stant on  which  hung  the  fate  of  the  hero  of  the  Green 
Mountains  and,  probably,  also  the  destinies  of  Ticon- 
ieroga.  But  the  gun  missed  fire.  The  life  of  the  daring 
leader  was  safe,  and  the  garrison  slept  on,  un alarmed, 
and  unconscious  of  their  danger.  Leaping  forward  like 
the  bounding  tiger  on  his  victim,  Allen  followed  up  the 
retreating  soldier  so  hotly  that,  with  all  the  speed  which 
fear  could  lend  him,  he  could  scarcely  keep  clear  of_  the 
rapidly  whirling  sword  of  his  fiery  pursuer,  till  he  gained 
the  interior  of  the  fortress  ;  when  he  gave  a  loud  screech 
of  alarm,  and,  making  a  desperate  leap  for  a  bomb  proof 
disappeared  within  its  recesses.  Meanwhile  the  rushing 
column  of  troops  came  sweeping  like  a  whirlwind  through 
the  gate  ;  when  fairly  gaining  the  parade  ground  in  front 
of  the  barracks,  they  gave  three  cheers  which  made  the 
old  walls  tremble  with  the  deafening  reverberations,  and 
caused  the  slumbering  garrison  to  start  from  their  beds 
in  wild  dismay  at  the  unwonted  sound.  Scarcely  had 
the  last  huzza  escaped  the  lips  of  the  men  and  their  lead- 
er, who  disdained  not  to  mingle  his  own  stentorian 
voice  in  the  peals  of  exultation  and  defiance,  which  rose 
in  thunders  to  heaven,  before  the  latter  was  rapidly 
threading  his  way  through  flying  sentries  and  half- 
dressed  officers,  towards  the  quarters  of  the  commandant 
of  the  fortress.  Pausing  an  instant  on  his  way,  to  chas- 
tise a  dastard  sentinel  whom  he  caught  making  a  pass 
at  one  of  our  officers  with  his  bayonet,  and  whom,  with 
one  blow  with  the  flat  of  his  sword,  he  sent  reeling  to  the 
sarth  with  the  cry  of  mercy  on  his  lips,  the  daring  lead- 
er bounded  up  the  stairway  leading  to  the  comman- 
dant's room,  and  thundering  at  the  door,  called  loudly  to 
that  officer  to  come  forth.  Captain  La  Place,  who  had 
just  leaped  from  his  bed,  on  hearing  the  tumult  below, 
soon  made  his  appearance  with  his  clothes  in  his  hand, 
but  suddenly  recoiling  a  step,  he  stood  gazing  in  mute 
amazement  at  the  stern  and  threatening  air,  and  the 
powerful  and  commanding  figure  of  the  man  before 
him. 
"I  come-  sir,  to  demand  the  immediate  surrender  of 


21  i  TEE  GEEEN  NO  UN TA IN  BO  VS. 

this  fortress  I "   sternly   said   Allen,   to   the   astonished 
commander. 

"  By  what  authority  do  you  make  this  bold  demand  ot 
His  Majesty's  fort,  sir  ? '"'  said  the  other,  almost  distrust 
ing  his  senses. 

"By  what  authority?"  thundered  Allen,  "I  demand 
it,  sir,  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Conti- 
nental Congress! " 

"  The  Continental  Congress  7  "  stammered  the  hesitate 
ing  officer,  "  I  know  of  no  right — I  don't  acknowledge  it, 
sir " 

"But  you  soon  will  acknowledge  it,  sir!"  fiercely  in- 
terrupted the  impatient  leader.  "And  hesitate  to  obey 
me  one  instant  longer,  and  by  the  eternal  heavens!  1 
will  sacrifice  every  man  in  your  fort !— beginning  the 
work,  sir,"  he  added,  whirling  his  sword  furiously  over  the 
head  of  the  other,  and  bringing  the  murderous  blade  at 
every  glittering  circle  it  made  in  the  air  nearer  and  nearer 
the  head  of  its  threatened  victim,  "beginning  the  work, 
sir,  by  sending  your  own  head  dancing  across  this  floor !  " 

"I  yield,  I  yield!"  cried  the  shrinking  commandant. 

"  Down  !  down,  then,  instantly  !  "  exclaimed  Allen, 
"and  communicate  the  surrender  to  your  men  while  any 
of  them  are  left  alive  to  hear  it." 

Scarcely  allowing  the  crestfallen  officer  time  to  encase 
his  legs  in  his  breeches,  Allen  hurried  him  down  to  the 
scene  of  action,  in  the  open  parade  below.  Here  they 
found  the  Green  Mountain  boys  eagerly  engaged  in  the 
work  of  capturing  Mie  garrison,  who  were  making  con- 
siderable show  of  resistance.  Two  of  the  barrack  doors 
had  been  beaten  down,  and  about  a  third  of  the  enemy 
already  made  prisoners.  And  the  fiery  Arnold  was  on 
the  point  of  blowing  a  third  door  from  its  hinges  with  a 
swivel,  which  he  had  caused  to  be  drawn  up  for  the  pur- 
pose; while  a  fourth  was  shaking  and  tottering  under 
the  tremendous  blows  of  an  axe,  wielded  by  the  long  and 
powerful  arms  of  Pete  Jones,  who  was  found  among  the 
foremost  in  the  contest. 

"  Cease,  cease  ye  all !  "  cried  Allen,  in  a  loud  voice  of 
command,  as  he  appeared  among  them  with  La  Place  by 
his  sid^ 

•'Now,   raaly.  Colonel."  said    Jones%    suspending;  his 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  215 

elevated  implement,  and  holding  it  back  over  his  head  in 
readiness  for  another  blow,  "I  wish  you  would  let  me 
settle  with  this  devilish  old  oak  door  before  I  stop. 
Why,  I  never  was  so  bothered  with  such  a  small  potatoe 
in  my  life  !  " 

"  No,  no  !  "  answered  the  other  smiling,  "  let  us  have 
silence  a  moment,  and  we  will  save  you  all  troubles  of 
that  kind." 

"Well,  then,  here  goes  for  a  parting  blessing!"  ex- 
claimed the  woodsman,  bringing  down  his  axe  with  a 
tremendous  blow,  which  brought  the  shattered  door 
tumbling  to  the  ground. 

The  British  commandant  then  calling  his  officers 
around  him,  informed  them  that  he  had  surrendered  the 
fortress,  and  ordered  them  to  parade  the  men  without 
arms.  While  this  was  in  performance,  a  second  detach- 
ment of  Green  Mountain  Boys  reached  the  shore,  and, 
having  eagerly  hastened  on  to  the  fort  to  join  their  com- 
panions, now  with  Warrington  at  their  head,  came  pour- 
ing into  the  arena.  A  single  glance  sufficed  to  tell  the 
latter  that  he  was  too  late  to  participate  in  aught  but  the 
fruits  of  the  victory.  With  a  disappointed  and  mortified  air 
he  halted  his  men,  and  approached  to  the  side  of  his  leader. 

"  Ah !  Colonel,"  said  he,  "  is  this  the  way  you  appro- 
priate all  the  laurels  to  yourself,  entirely  forgetful  of 
your  friends  ?  " 

"  Pooh  1  pooh !  Charles,"  replied  Allen,  turning  to  the 
other  with  a  soothing,  yet  self-complaisant  smile,  at  the 
half- reproachful  compliment  thus  conveyed,  "you  need 
not  mourn  much  lost  glory  in  this  affair.  Why,  the 
stupid  devils  did  not  give  us  fight  enough  to  whet  our 
appetites  for  breakfast !  But  never  mind,  Charles,  there 
is  more  business  yet  to  be  done  ;  Crown  Point  and  Major 
Skene's  stone  castle  must  both  be  ours  to-night.  The 
taking  of  the  first  shall  be  yours  to  perform.  And  after 
breakfast  and  a  few  bumpers  in  honor  of  our  victory,  we 
will  despatch  you  for  that  purpose,  with  a  corps  of  your 
own  selection." 

"  Thank  you,  thank  you,  Colonel,"  replied  the  other 
with  a  grateful  smile.     "  But  the  expedition  to  Skene., 
boro' — may  I  not  speak  a  word  for  our  friend,  Selden !  '* 


216  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Aha.77  replied  Allen,  laughing,  "then  this  offer  ta 
take  charge  of  the  negro's  letter  had  its  meaning,  eh  ?  I 
don't  know  exactly  about  that  chip  of  a  British  Colonel 
for  a  Yankee  patriot.  Now,  yours,  Major,  I  acknowledge 
to  be  a  true  Cynosure.  But  his,  I  fear,  will  prove  a  Dog 
star.  However,  this  is  his  own  hunt;  and  as  he  is  a 
finished  fellow,  and,  doubtless,  brave  and  true,  I  think  I 
will  give  him  the  command  of  the  expedition,  unless 
claimed  by  Easton.  But  hush!  the  commandant  is  about 
to  go  through  the  forms  of  the  surrender.  1  must  away, 
but  will  see  you  again." 

The  brief  ceremonies  of  the  surrender  were  soon  over ; 
when,  as  the  fortress  was  pronounced  to  be  in  full  pos 
session  of  the  conquerors,  the  heavens  were  again  rent  by 
the  reiterated  huzzas  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  while 
British  cannon  were  made  to  peal  forth  with  their  deep- 
mouthed  thunders  to  the  trembling  hills  and  reverber- 
ating moutains  of  the  country  around,  the  proclamation 
of  victory  !— the  first  triumph  of  Young  Freedom  over 
the  arms  of  her  haughty  oppressor. 


CHAPTER  III. 

"A  thousand  evil  things  there  are  that  hate 
To  look  on  happiness  ;  these  hurt  impede, 
And  leagued  with  time,  circumstance  and  fate, 
Keep  kindred  heart  from  heart,  to  pine  and  pant  and  bleed." 

Mrs.  Brooks. 

It  is  time,  perhaps,  that  we  should  recur  a  little,  tc 
trace  the  operations  of  some  personages  of  our  story, 
whose  agenc}7,  though  unnoted  by  us  through  several  of 
the  last  chapters,  had  yet,  in  the  meanwhile,  been  actively 
exercised  in  bringing  about  the  events  that  were  destined 
to  follow.  And  it  is  with  a  sort  of  reluctance  of  feeling 
that  we  turn  from  the  soul-kindling  task  of  describing 
the  noble  exploits  of  Allen  and  his  patriot  companions, 
to  the  low  and  despicable  plottings  of  the  base  Sherwood, 
and  his  still  more  execrable  associate  in  crime.  Though 
twice  foiled  in  his  attempts  to  procure  the  destruction  of 
Warrington,  under  the  sanction  of  a  despotic  law,  oi 


THE  GliEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  217 

which  advantage  was  taken  mainly  to  cloak  the  true 
motives  of  the  act, — though  signally  defeated  in  this,  and 
the  holder  attempt  at  assassination,  which  was  subse- 
quently made  at  his  instigation,  yet  still  restless  as  the 
dark  spirit  of  evil,  this  plotter  of  mischief,  instead  of  relin- 
quishing his  object,  was  now  only  the  more  intently 
engaged  in  devising  and  putting  in  practice  new  ways  of 
accomplishing  his  nefarious  designs. 

On  the  evening  that  Darrow  had  attempted  the  life  of 
Warrington  in  the  woods,  Sherwood  was  sitting  in  his 
house,  which  was  kept  by  a  simple  couple,  wholly  in  the 
interests  of  their  employer.  He  had  just  arrived  from  a 
visit  to  the  house  of  Captain  Hendee,  where,  as  the  reader 
has  been  apprised,  he  had  been  sowing  the  seeds  of  dis- 
cord in  that  hapless  family.  And  the  chilly  reception 
with  which  his  parting  advances  had  been  met  by  the 
indignant  girl,  whom  they  were  intended  to  soften  and 
deceive,  more  than  ever  confirming  him  in  what  his 
jealousy  had  long  since  suggested,  that  her  inclinations 
were  setting  strongly  towards  his  hated  rival,  and  fore- 
seeing that  something  must  speedily  be  done  to  counter- 
act the  current,  he  was  now  revolving  over  the  different 
schemes  that  rose  in  his  teeming  brain  for  affecting  his 
purpose,  in  case  of  the  failure  of  his  minion  to  remove  the 
object,  alike  of  his  hatred  and  his  fears.  While  thus 
occupied  in  mind.  Darrow,  whose  coming  was  not  wholly 
unlooked  for,  arrived,  and  sulkily  entered  the  apartment. 

"  Ah,  Darrow ! "  exclaimed  Sherwood,  with  his  usual 
hypocritical  smile,  "  very  glad  to  see  you.  I  knew  not 
whether  you  would  come  to-night,  or  return  to  the  fort." 

"Why,"  replied  the  other,  "when  I  concluded  to  give 

it  up  for  a  d n  bad  day's  work,  I  found  myself  nearer 

your  house  than  the  fort;  so  I  came,  that's  all." 

"  Glad  you  did.  So  come,  unrig,  and  sit  down.  The 
old  woman  in  the  other  room,  will  have  us  some  supper 
ready  soon.  But  no  luck  with  your  rifle  to-day  ?"  said 
Sherwood,  with  a  significant  smile. 

"  None — except  getting  half  tired  to  death,  in  this 
cursed  wild-goose  chase  of  yours,"  petulantly  replied  the 
surly  minion. 

"  What !  not  even  get  a  sight  of  the  game,  after  so 
much  beating  about  the  bush?" 


218  TUB  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Yes,  twice;  and  failed  both  times,  as  the  devil  who 
sent  me  on  the  errand,  would  have  it,"  answered  Darrow, 
with  an  equivocal  glance  at  the  other. 

"Failed!  how?"  said  Sherwood,  without  appearing  to 
notice  the  half-intentional  sarcasm  of  Darrow. 

"  Why,  the  first  time  the  devilish  rifle  missed  fire,  for 
a  rarity — the  second,  its  owner  missed  his  aim,  and  had 
to  take  to  his  legs  to  save  his  bacon." 

"All  this  is  very  singular,  Mr.  Darrow,"  observed 
Sherwood,  with  a  disappointed,  and  somewhat  incredulous 
look. 

"  Yes,  but  true  for  all  that.    Believe  it  or  not,  just  as 
you  please,  I  care  not  a  groat." 
"What  mean  you  now,  Darrow?" 
"  Exactly  what  I  say ;   and  I  am  beginning  to  mean 
something  more  too.'' 

"  You  are  a  strange  fellow,  Darrow.  But  let  us  have 
all  your  meanings,  wants,  and  wishes,  in  a  lump.  1  am 
in  no  mood  for  riddles." 

"Nor  I  either.  Well,  then,  the  fellow  escaped  my 
bullet  by  no  intended  fault  of  mine,  yet  1  am  not  sorry  I 
missed  him.  I  have  been  thinking  of  the  business  coming 
along,  and  for  all  your  talk  about  his  life  being  forfeited, 
I  can't  make  it  out  much  better  than  killing— not  to  use  a 
worse  word,— which  they  say  gives  a  fellow  ugly  dreams. 
So  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  let  you  do  your  own  jobs 
of  this  sort,  in  future.    And  if  you  persist  in  urging  me 

further " 

"Killing!  who  asked  you  to  kill  him?"  interrupted 
Sherwood  in  feigned  surprise. 

"Curse  you,  Jake,  you  know  well  enough  you  meant 
that.  But  I  am  still  willing  to  help  take  the  fellow,  and 
hand  him  over  to  the  Yorkers  to  punish,  or  lend  you  a 
hand  to  carry  any  other  point,  if  you  will  do  the  clean 
thing  by  me.  But  in  the  first  place  you  must  tell  me 
what  you  fear  from  this  fellow,  and  why  you  are  so  spe- 
cially set  on  having  him  taken,  more  than  Allen,  or  any 
.other  outlaw?" 

"That  is  more  than  I  intended  to  tell  any  one:  but  as 
I  suppose  you  will  better  serve  my  interests  by  under- 
standing this,  you  shall  know  the  whole  business  :  well, 
after  I  had  been  here  awhile,  I  noticed  that  the  girl,  when 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  219 

tBe  Captain  said  anything  in  praise  of  this  Howard,  as  he 
supposed  his  name  was,  never  joined  her  father  in  praises 
of  the  feliow,  though  she  never  had  any  ears  for  anything 
else  while  the  slightest  mention  was  made  of  him.  And 
if  I  so  much  as  asked  a  question  implying  a  doubt  about 
the  fellow's  perfection,  she  would  show  resentment  as 
plain  as  looks  could  do  it.  Xow,  Darrow,  if  you  would 
discover  whether  a  girl  entertains  any  secret  liking  for  a 
man,  just  introduce  his  name  in  her  presence,  contriving 
both  to  praise  and  censure  him,  and  if  she  refuse  to  join 
you  in  either,  but  is  all  attention  when  you  praise,  and 
grows  restless  when  you  censure  him,  you  may  safely  set 
it  down  that  love  is  secretly  lurking  about  her  heart.  It 
was  something  like  this  that  led  me  to  think  that  this 
Howard  had  made  an  impression  which  I  little  relished. 
This  suspicion  caused  me  to  obtain  from  the  old  Captain 
a  minute  description  of  the  fellow,  and  having  before  had 
one  of  Warrington,  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  favorite 
might  be  no  other  than  the  outlaw,  himself ;  And  being 
determined  to  ascertain  whether  my  conjectures  were 
correct,  I  made  a  secret  journey  to  Bennington,  where  I 
got  a  sight  at  Warrington,  and  where,  by  professing  great 
Wrath  against  the  Yorkers,  I  was  let  into  secrets  which 
confirmed  me  in  my  suspicions.  There,  also,  I  made  ar- 
rangements for  being  apprised  of  Warrington's  future 
movements  with  one  Willoughby,  who  sent  the  word 
which  enabled  me  to  ferret  out  him  and  his  band  at  Lake 
Dunmore.  All  this,  however,  I  kept  secret  from  the  Hen- 
dees,  but  took  especial  pains  to  inspire  the  old  man,  and 
more  particularly  his  daughter,  with  a  horror  of  the  char- 
acter  of  Warrington.  And  now,  Darrow,  after  the  insuf- 
ferable scoundrel  has  caused  me  to  be  tied  up  and  whipped 
like  a  dog,  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  has  found  his  way 
into  this  family,  and  attempted  to  beguile  from  me  my 
betrothed,  canVou  ask  why  I  wish  to  see  him  brought  to 
justice?" 

"  Why,  you  seem  to  make  out  considerable  of  a  case  of 
it,  to  be  sure,"  replied  the  other  carelessly,  as  he  rolled 
his  tobacco  quid  in  his  lips.  "But,  *  betrothed,' do  you 
call  her?  Why,  I  thought  you  cared  so  little  about  the 
girl,  that  you  was  quite  undetermined  whether  you  would 
hav©  her  or  not  ?  " 


220  THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Well,  whatever  I  may  have  said  before,  I  am  not  un» 
determined  now — for  the  girl,  in  spite  of  men,  or  devils, 
I  swear  I  will  have." 

"  What  mighty  object  is  there,  Jake,  in  breaking  your 
neck  for  her?  Be  sure,  she  is  a  snug  piece  enough,  but 
you  can  catch  other  fish  as  fair,  and  those  too,  who  will 
bring  you  hundreds  to  her  none." 

"I  have  plenty  of  objects  to  answer  :  one  is  to  defeat 
this  hated  scoundrel, — another,  to  punish  her  for  presum- 
ing to  like  him.  I  don't  say  now  I  will  marry  her.  But 
she  shall  be  mine,  to  do  with  as  I  choose.  I  will  have  her, 
and  keep  her  in  a  spot  where  it  shall  be  mine,  not  hers,  to 
decide  whose  wife  she  shall  become.  That,  indeed,  was 
mainly  my  motive  in  drawing  her  into  an  engagement  in 
the  first  place  :  for  you  know,  Darrow,  that  in  case  the 
old  concerns  should  happen  to  be  ripped  up,  a  matrimonial 
plaster  would  cure  all.  And  so  long  as  1  kept  things  in 
this  posture,  I  should  have  the  remedy  at  hand." 

"Yes,  but  what  chance  do  you  consider  there  is  of  rip- 
ping up  old  matters,"  asked  the  sergeant,  throwing  a 
keen  inquiring  glance  at  the*  other. 

"  Why,  such  a  thing  is  possible,  you  know.  The  old 
man,  my  father,  I  mean,  as  he  grows  weak  and  childish, 
may  repent,  and  kick  over  his  own  kettle,  and,  of  course 
mine.  Indeed,  I  have  great  fears  of  this:  for,  though  he 
never  said  anything  to  me  of  the  kind,  not  dreaming  that 
I  ever  met  with  you  here,  or  discovered  by  any  other  means 
the  secrets  of  his  former  management,  yet  I  have  lately  ob- 
served in  him  a  sort  of  growing  uneasiness,  a  whining, 
melancholy  way,  which,  with  his  great  anxiety  that  I 
should  marry  this  girl,  has  made  me  rather  jealous,  that 
his  firmness  is  giving  way  in  this  quarter.  Besides  this, 
there  are  other  dangers  :  that  boy,  who,  you  say  the  old 
man  still  thinks  was  done  for,  may  yet  be  alive,  and 
return  to  make  me  trouble." 

"  Well,  if  he  should,  he  would  be  a  no  very  lousy  foe 
for  you  to  contend  with,  Jake, — that  is,  if  he  is  as  smart 
for  a  man  as  he  was  for  a  boy — I  tell  you,  he  was  a  bright 
one  for  a  four-year-old.  I  liked  him,  and  never  had  the 
least  notion  of  harming  a  hair  of  his  head." 

"  What  object  had  you.  then,  in  making  the  old  man 
believe  as  you  did?" 


THE  QREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  221 

"  Why,  I  mistrusted  that  would  please  the  old  man 
best,  and  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  don't  believe  it  did»  Jake,  if 
he  is  your  father." 

"  Well,  there  are  these  chances  against  me,  and 
then " 

"And  then  Bill  Darrow  may  leak,  you  was  going  to 
say,  was  you,  Jake?"  sneeringly  asked  the  minion. 

"O,  no!  "  quickly  responded  the  consummate  dissent 
bier  with  a  gracious  smile,  and  a  surprised  air,  as  if  such 
a  thought  never  entered  his  head.  "  No,  indeed.  I  should 
as  soon  fear  myself.  But  I  was  thinking,  and  about  to 
say,  that  besides  these  chances,  Warrington's  communi- 
cation with  the  girl  will  prove  dangerous  to  my  plans, 
and  that  they  must  be  stopped." 

"  Well,  how  are  you  a-going  to  do  it,  short  of  following 
up  the  plan  we  have  been  already  acting  on  to  so  little 
purpose?" 

"  Why,  I  have  already  taken  one  step  to-day,  by  in- 
forming Hendee  that  his  friend  Howard  was  no  less  than 
the  outlaw  Warrington  in  disguise.  This  was  touching 
the  fire  to  his  gunpowder  temper;  and  has  pretty  effect- 
vally  blown  the  fellow  up  as  regards  any  open  communi- 
cation with  the  girl." 

<*  That  may  be,  but  it  has  also  blown  up  your  best  trap 
for  taking  him,  you  see,  don't  you?" 

"  Perhaps  so,  but  I  dare  not  risk  his  visits  with  tne 
standing  he  evidently  held  in  their  minds.  And  now, 
having  broken  off  all  open  intercourse  between  the  girl 
and  the  audacious  rascal,  we  must  go  to  work  to  sunder 
those  ties  which  may  yet  secretly  remain." 

"  Hum  !  That,  I  should  think,  would  be  like  trying  to 
cut  off  sunbeams  with  a  jack-knife.  1  should  like  to 
know  how  the  old  boy  you  calculate  to  do  that?" 

"  O,  easy  enough,  though  my  plan  is  not  quite  made 
up.  I  will  tell  you  in  the  morning.  But  will  you  assist 
me  in  carrying  it  out?" 

"Don't  know  but  I  will.  But  supposing  I  do,  and  see 
you  fairly  through  the  whole  scrape,  what  do  you  finally 
intend  to  do  for  me?" 

"Anything  almost  that  you  may  ask,  Darrow.  You 
will  own  that  the  earnest  money  I  gave  you  the  other 
day  was  a  handsome  affair?" 


22$  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

«« Hum  !— Yes,  decent." 

"  Well,  from  the  late  news,  I  suppose  we  shall  havt 
war.  Warrington  and  most  of  these  rascally  settlers  will 
be  with  the  rebels.  1,  from  several  motives,  shall  go  for 
the  king.  And  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  get  a  Cap- 
tain's  commission,  and  raise  a  company  to  act  in  this 
quarter.  You  shall  be  my  Lieutenant.  And  then  we 
svill  use  up  these  refractory  settlers  in  a  way  they  little 
dream  of.  Bat  hark!  The  old  woman  is  rapping  for  ns 
to  come  to  supper.  I  will  mature  my  plans,  and  open 
,heni  to  you  as  1  said  in  the  morning." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

**  I  something  fear  my  father's  wrath  ;  but  nothing 
(Always  reserv'd  my  holy  duty),  what 
iJis  rage  can  do  on  me.     You  must  begone  : 
And  I  shall  here  abide  the  hourly  shot 
Of  angry  eyes  ;  not  comforted  to  live, 
But  that  there  is  +his  jewel  in  the  world, 
That  I  may  see  again." 

The  development  made  by  Sherwood,  at  his  late  visit, 
seemed  to  produce  on  Captain  Hend.ee,  whose  mind  had 
been  previously  prejudiced  and  poisoned  for  the  purpose, 
all  the  effect  which  the  former  could  have  desired.  The 
Captain's  feelings  of  pride  were  deeply  touched  at  the 
thought  of  having  entertained,  and  welcomed  in  his 
family,  a  man  acting  under  the  disguise  of  an  assumed 
name,  and  consequently  harboring,  as  he  reasoned,  no 
honorable  purposes.  And  these  views  going  to  confirm 
all  the  falsehoods  and  dark  insinuations,  by  which  that 
lago  in  malice  and  subtlety  had  accompanied  his  dis- 
closures concerning  Warrington,  the  mind  of  the  irritable 
old  gentleman  had  been  wrought  up  to  a  pitch  of  exas- 
peration and  bitterness,  which  he  pretended  neither  to 
disguise  nor  control,  and  which  he  failed  not  to  vent  on 
all  around  him,  but  more  particularly  upon  his  unhappy 
daughter.  To  her,  indeed,  his  whole  demeanor  became 
changed ;  and  his  treatment  was  marked  by  a  distrustful 
eoldness,  and  continued  austerity  of  manner,  which  she 


TEJS  QREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  228 

had  never  before,  for  so  long  a  time,  experienced  from 
her  passionate,  but  hitherto  quickly  relenting,  parent. 
And  yet  she,  who  was  happily  the  very  reverse  of  her 
fathsr  in  temper,  had  neither  manifested,  nor  felt  the 
least  wish  to  resent  the  unkindness ;  but  calm  and  ami. 
able  in  disposition,  as  she  was  fearless  and  spirited  in 
action,  she  had  borne  all  with  the  most  forgiving  patience, 
prudently  awaiting  the  subsiding  of  the  tempest  of  his 
passion,  before  she  should  attempt,  as  she  was  resolved 
to  do,  to  exculpate  Warrington,  and  gradually  bring 
about  a  change  in  his  views  and  feelings,  in  regard  to  the 
connection  with  Sherwood.  She  well  knew  that  he  was 
now  laboring  under  many  false  impressions,  which  she 
felt  conscious  of  her  ability  to  remove,  as  soon  as  he 
should  become  sufficiently  calm  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 
reason.  Day  after  day,  therefore,  she  had  anxiously 
watched  for  some  appearance  of  relenting,  some  more 
softened  mood,  which  should  afford  her  an  opportunity 
of  making  this  attempt  with  a  reasonable  hope  of  success. 
But  till  the  evening  on  which  Jones  called  at  the  house, 
she  had  observed  nothing  that  indicated  the  least  relaxa- 
tion in  her  father's  feelings.  And  being  then  interrupted 
by  the  woodsman's  call,  at  an  hour  which  usually  afforded 
her  the  only  opportunity  she  had  through  the  day  of 
conversing  with  her  parent  alone,  she  deferred  her  pur- 
pose to  another  day.  But  the  next  day  brought  along 
with  it  events  which  so  engrossed  her  time  and  attention, 
that  this  desired  object  was  not  again  sought  to  be  ob* 
tained,  till  circumstances  intervened,  which  destroyed 
every  motive  and  wish  she  could  entertain  for  accom- 
plishing it. 

Such  was  the  state  of  feelings,  and  such  the  relative 
position  in  which  the  father  and  daughter  stood  towards 
each  other  on  the  day  which  proved  so  triumphant  to  the 
American  arms  on  Lake  Champlain.  In  the  early  part 
of  that  day  the  attention  of  this  family,  as  well  as  that 
of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity  of  the  lake,  was 
aroused  by  heavy  and  repeated  discharges  of  cannon,  in 
the  direction  of  Ticonderoga.  Little  dreaming  of  the  fact 
that  the  cannonading  which  was  filling  the  whole  valley 
of  the  lake  with  its  echoing  thunders,  was  the  harbinger 
of  a  victory  already  won,  the  whole  neighborhood  was 


^24        TnE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Instantly  in  commotion, — some  riding  post  haste  into  the 
interior  to  carry  the  news,  or  rally  volunteers,  some  fly- 
ing from  house  to  house  to  interchange  the  expressions 
of  their  fears  and  sympathies,  and  the  greater  number, 
rushing  down  to  the  nearest  landing  on  the  lake  shore, 
to  gain  the  first  tidings  of  their  friends  engaged  in  the 
deadly  conflict,  which  they  supposed  was  at  that  moment 
raging  round  the  walls  of  the  hostile  fortress,     in  a  short 
time  the  door-yard  of  Captain  Ilendee's  cottage  was  filled 
with  a  group  of  excited  boys  and  anxious  females.    And 
agonizing  were  the  sensations  of  many  an  affectionate 
wife  and  sister,  and  oft  and  fervent  their  trembling  ejac- 
ulations  to    Heaven    for  the   preservation  of  husbands, 
brothers,  and  lovers,  in  this   hour  of  danger.     And  not 
the  most  indifferent  among  those  thus  oppressed  with 
painful  solicitude  for  the  event,  which  they  believed  in- 
volved the  fate  of  all  they  held  dear  on  earth,  was  Alma 
Ilendee.     To  her  whose  lover  might  be  expected  to  be 
among   the  foremost  of  those  engaged  in   the  perilous 
assault,  every  gun  that  came  booming  over  the  waters 
brought  with  it  a  pang  for  her  agitated  bosom.     Nor  was 
her  anxiety  the  less  painfully  felt,  because  circumstances 
compelled  her  to  endure  it  in   silence.    The  firing  at 
length  ceased,  and  all  awaited  in  trembling  solicitude 
some  arrival,  which  should  bring  them  information  of 
the  result.    This,  however,  continued  for  several,  and  to 
most  of  them,  long  and  tedious  hours,  to  rest  in  uncer- 
tainty.   But  at  length  a  horseman,  covered  with  dust, 
and  lashing  his  foaming  horse  to  speed,  came  furiously 
galloping  down  the  road  to  the  south.     All,  with  beating 
hearts  and  breathless  expectation,  awaited  the  announce- 
ment of  the  rapidly  approaching  messenger.    The  next 
moment,  as  he  neared  them,  he  swung  his  hat  round  his 
head,  exclaiming  "Victory  !  victory!  hurra  for  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys !     Ticonderoga  is  taken,  and  not  a  man 
killed !  hurra"!  hurra !  "  and,  without  scarcelv  checking 
the  speed  of  his  horse,  on  he  dashed,  to  carry  to  others 
the  joyful  tidings.    The  cracked  voice  of  the  war-worn 
and  veteran  Hendee  was  the  next  instant  mingling  with 
the  shrill  and  high-keyed  cry  of  the  boys  around  him  in 
the  responsive  hurrah  that  now  involuntarily  burst  from 
their  lips.    With  tears  of  joy  and  thankfulness  gushing 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  225 

oter  many  a  fair  cheek,  the  females  hurried  on  such  hahi. 
laments  as  they  had  laid  aside,  and  the  company,  imme- 
diately dispersing,  hastened  to  their  respective  homes 
with  the  gladdening  news,  leaving  Captain  Hendee  and 
his  daughter  again  by  themselves,  and  their  cottage  to 
relapse  into  its  usual  quietness.  The  day,  however,  was 
not  destined  to  close  upon  them  without  the  occurrence 
of  other  events  of  stirring  interest.  Towards  sunset, 
several  bateaux  filled  with  armed  men,  made  their  ap- 
pearance on  the  lake,  approaching  from  the  south,  and  as 
they  neared,  were  soon  discovered  to  be  bearing  down 
upon  the  fortress  of  Crown  Point. 

"Bring  me  out  my  old  spyglass,  Alma ! "  cried  Cap- 
tain Hendee,  hobbling  from  the  garden  where  he  had 
been  at  work,  towards  the  house,  and  turning  round 
every  few  steps  to  look  at  the  little  armament,  which  he 
had  discovered  approaching.  "  Here  comes  more  trouble 
for  the  British — or  else  that  fellow  fooled  us  with  his 
news,  and  these  are  a  reinforcement  for  the  garrison. 
Come,  step  quick,  girl,  I  can't  make  them  out  with  cer- 
tainty." 

"  Would  British  troops  be  likely  to  come  in  that  direc- 
tion, father?"  said  Alma,  in  accents  tremulous  with 
emotion,  as  she  approached,  and  handed  the  required 
instrument  to  the  other. 

"  Why,  no,  I  should  hardly  have  expected  it ;  but  let 
us  see,"  replied  the  Captain,  adjusting  his  glass  and  plac- 
ing it  to  his  eye.  "  By  heavens,  the  girl  is  right !  Those 
boats  contain  anything  but  British  regulars.  No,  they 
must  be  Green  Mountain  Boys,  about  to  make  an  onset 
on  the  fort.  See !  how  stiffly  they  bear  down  towards 
the  old  walls!"  he  continued  with  animation.  "Gad! 
they  are  bold  fellows,  to  say  the  least,  to  be  sailing  di- 
rectly in  the  teeth  of  yonder  war-dogs  !  But  here,  child, 
your  eye  is  keener  than  mine; — take  the  glass  and  watch 
their  movements." 

The  girl  took  the  glass,  and  bringing  the  boats  within 
its  field  of  vision,  looked  long  and  intently  without 
speaking. 

"They  are  coming  to  a  halt  now, are  they  not?"  asked 
the  Captain. 

"  Yes,  they  have  nearly  ceased  rowing  now,"  replied 


226  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

>he  maiden.  "  Why,  how  plainly  I  can  see  even  thew 
features !  Now  there  is  one,  who  has  mounted  a  bench, 
and  appears  to  be  giving  commands  to  the  rest.  Now  he 
has  turned  his  face  this  way,  as  if — as  if " 

"Why!  how  unsteady  the  girl's  hand  is!  nonsense! 
child,  you  need  not  be  frightened, — they  are  not  coming 
near  us,"  half  pettishly,  half  encouragingly,  exclaimed  the 
Captain,  supposing  his  daughter's  very  visible  agitation 
proceeded  from  an  apprehension  that  the  commander 
was  about  to  order  the  boats  to  cross  over  the  lake 
towards  the  house. 

"I  am  not  afraid,  father,  only — but  see!  their  boats 
are  turning  to  the  shore.  They  appear  now  to  be  putting 
into  a  small  cove." 

"There  is  where  they  are  cunning,"  observed  the 
other.  "  They  don't  think  it  altogether  safe  to  approach 
much  nearer  in  the  range  of  those  murderous  long  guns. 
If  I  had  been  there  in  command  of  the  fort,  I  think  they 
would  have  seen  trouble  some  time  ago.  Thank  God, 
however,  the  stupid  fools  within  there  have  lost  their 
best  chance !     But  what  are  they  doing  now?" 

"  They  have  landed,  nearly  all  landed  now,  and  seem 
to  be  forming  on  the  bank." 

"  Good !  now,  Alma,  you  will  have  a  chance  to  see  a 
little  of  your  father's  old  trade— that  is,  if  the  garrison 
have  sense  and  courage  enough  to  make  use  of  the  advan- 
tages they  possess  for  repelling  their  assailants.  Are 
they  moving  forward  yet  for  the  fort?" 

"No,  the  commander  appears  to  be  addressing  two  men 
apart  from  the  rest,  one  of  whom  seems  to  be  unrolling 
something  white.  Ah!  I  see,  now;  it  is  a  white  flag. 
The  two  now  advance  along  the  path  leading  to  the  fort, 
while  the  rest  appear  to  stand  in  a  waiting  attitude, 
anxiously  watching  the  motions  of  their  two  companions 
as  they  approach  the  gate." 

"It  is  a  summons  from  the  commander,  girl — a  sum. 
mons  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  Now  you  will  see 
whether  they  will  obey  it,  and  yield  without  a  blow  the 
prize  that  cost  the  king  so  much  toil  and  blood  in  the 
winning,  as  my  sad  experience  can  well  attest.  Many  a 
dark  and  fearful  night,  Alma,  have  I  ranged  these  woods, 
while  the  savage  foe  were  lurking  around  us  in  ever* 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  227 

direction.  Old  Major  Put,  as  we  used  to  call  that  dare- 
devil, and  myself  once " 

"  There !  there !  father,"  interrupted  the  other,  "  the 
messengers  have  now  approached  near  to  the  walls.  A 
man  appears  on  the  top.  They  are  conferring  together. 
The  messengers  point  to  their  companions.  The  man  on 
*he  wall  seems  to  hesitate.  They  now  seem  to  direct 
his  attention  to  something  down  the  lake.  Look,  father, 
and  see  if  anything  is  to  be  seen  coming  in  that  direc- 
tion." 

"  Now  the  Lord  be  witli  the  assailants  for  a  sudden 
rush,  or  their  game  is  up!"  exclaimed  the  Captain,  as, 
in  compliance  with  his  daughter's  request,  he  turned 
and  threw  an  inquiring  look  along  the  lake  towards  the 
north.  "Two  boats  filled  with  armed  men  are  coming 
up  the  lake,  rowing  for  life — British,  no  doubt,  hastening 
to  succor  the  garrison." 

"No,  father,  no!"  joyfully  exclaimed  the  girl,  as  with 
trembling  haste  she  turned  the  glass  to  the  armament  in 
question.  "You  are  again  mistaken.  These,  too,  are 
Gre«m  Mountain  Boys,  coming  on  to  join  their  com- 
panions." 

"Green  Mountain  Boys!  from  that  quarter?  where 
should  they  come  from?" 

"  From  the  Winooski  River,  father.  Captain  Baker  has 
been  on  there,  and  " — eagerly  replied  the  other,  but  stop- 
ping short  and  blushing,  as  it  occurred  to  her  that  the 
remark  would  lead  to  the  discovery  of  the  source  of  her 
information. 

"  Really,  girl !  one  would  suppose  you  had  been  to  the 
council  of  war,  where  this  campaign  was  planned,"  said 
t,he  Captain,  with  an  air  of  surprise ;  but  being  too  much 
occupied  with  present  objects  to  trace  the  association,  he, 
to  the  great  relief  of  his  confused  daughter,  reverted  to 
the  scene  before  him,  and  said,  "You  may  be  right  after 
all,— if  so,  victory  is  certain.  But  turn  now  to  the  fort 
and  see  what  is  going  on  there." 

"  I  will — I  am,  father,"  replied  the  flustered  girl.  "  Ah  ! 
I  have  a  view  again:  now  the  conference  between  the 
commander,  or  man  on. the  walls,  and  the  two  messengers 
seems  to  be  broken  off.  The  latter  are  departing.  But 
now  the  man  seems  to  be  celling  them  back.    They  turn 


328  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

to  him  again  and  hold  parley.  Now  the  messengers  tura 
quickly  round,  and  wave  their  flag  to  their  companions, 
who  seem  suddenly  to  be  put  in  motion.  And,  see  !  see  ! 
their  whole  body  is  rushing  towards  the  fort.  How 
their  guns  glimmer  through  the  trees  as  they  pour  along 
the  path !  How  their  commander's  sword  flashes  in  the 
sun,  as  half  turning  he  whirls  it  about  his  head  to  motion 
them  on  !  There  !  there !  father,  they  mount  the  swell  !— 
they  approach  the  walls— the  gate  is  thrown  open ;  and 
now  they  disappear  within  the  works,  and  all  is  still." 

"  And  all  without  a  single  gun  being  fired  in  defence 
of  Old  Frederick!  impossible!"  exclaimed  the  Captain, 
with  mingled  feelings  of  joy  for  the  success  of  his  country- 
men, and  shame  for  the  garrison,  who  would  surrender, 
without  resistance,  a  fortress  which  years  of  his  life  had 
been  spent  in  helping  to  wrest  from  the  Frenchmen. 

«  Here !  look,  look,  father ! "  again  exclaimed  the  excited 
girl,  "  The  lion  flag  goes  down!  another  of  a  lighter  color 
goes  up !  Have  they  not  conquered,  father  ? — They  have ! 
They  have!  and  oh!  how  thankful!" 

"Yes!  'tis  all  over!"  responded  the  Captain,  rubbing 
his  hands  in  ecstasy.  "  Quick  work,  by  heavens !  Not  a 
gun  fired ! — not  a  man  killed,  and  the  old  Lion  is  flat  on 
his  back !  The  command  of  the  whole  of  Lake  Champlain 
is  ours !  Huzza  for  liberty  ! "  he  shouted,  leaping  from 
the  ground,  forgetful  of  his  lameness  in  the  excitement  of 
the  moment,  and  throwing  his  hat  into  the  air  :  "  Huzza 
for  the  Green  Mountain  Boys !  They  deserve  a  hecatomb 
for  their  victories  ! " 

At  this  instant  a  dozen  columns  of  smoke  shot  out 
fiercely  from  the  walls  of  the  fortress,  and  the  deafening 
peal  of  cannon,  which  followed,  announced  to  the  shud- 
dering hills  around  the  surrender  of  the  last  controlling 
foothold  of  British  power  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  to  the  prowess  and  patriotism  of  the  Green  Mount- 
ain Boys. 

Alma  now  delivering  up  the  spyglass  to  her  father, 
hastened  into  the  house,  and  took  a  seat  in  her  window, 
where,  unobserved  by  any,  she  could  observe  what  further 
movements  might  transpire  at  the  scene  of  action,  and  at 
the  same  time  freely  indulge  in  her  emotions  of  joy  and 
gratitude  for  the  preservation  of  her  lover,  whom  she  had 


TUE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  229 

distinctly  made  out  to  be  the  leader  of  the  victorious 
party. 

An  hour  or  two  after  the  surrender,  a  skiff,  containing 
a  single  individual,  put  off  from  the  shore  under  the  tori, 
and  directed  its  course  to  the  landing  below  the  cottage. 
The  individual,  on  reaching  the  shore,  c;une  directly  to- 
wards the  house,  and  was  soon  ascertained  to  be  Neshobee 
by  the  Captain,  who,  still  remaining  in  his  garden,  had 
been  watching  the  coming  boat.  The  Indian  rather 
sheepishly  approached  his  master,  conscious,  perhaps, 
that  as  far  as  regarded  the  Captain,  he  had  played  the 
truant  in  joining  the  expedition. 

"  Well,  Neshobee,"  said  the  Captain,  as  the  other,  with 
averted  face  came  carelessly  along,  "where  have  you  been 
all  this  time?" 

"  Umph !  me  been  go  learn  fight  urn." 

"  I  thought  it  likely  enough  they  had  got  you  away  for 
that,  as  I  suspected  from  several  things  I  noticed  yester- 
day, that  this  business  was  afoot.  But  how  did  you  know 
I  should  be  willing  you  should  join  in  these  doings  ?" 

"  What  you  tell  big  Cappen — Colonel,  who  make  be- 
lieve drunk  todder  night?" 

"  Well,  well,  my  lad,  I  don't  mean  to  scold  you  much 
for  joining  in  so  good  a  work,  though  you  might  have 
talked  with  me  a  little  before  you  went.  But  have  you 
been  with  the  big  Captain,  who  is  no  other  than  Ethan 
Allen,  Mr.  Sherwood  informed  me?" 

"  Me  have." 

"  Well,  he  was  commander  of  the  expedition,  I  suppose 
— what  did  he  and  his  men  do  there  at  Ticonderoga ? " 

"They  take  urn  red-coats, — pile  up  their  guns  for  no 
let  lira  have  um  more, — fire  big  guns,  more  fifty — hoo! 
bang!  "  replied  the  Indian  with  significant  gestures. 

"And  was  it  the  big  Captain  who  came  on  with  the 
men  to  take  this  fort  ?  " 

"No,  young  Cappen,  Major,  what  you  call  Misser 
Howard." 

"  Well,  you  may  go,  now,"  said  Hendee,  impatiently, 
motioning  the  other  to  go  on  to  the  house. 

"How  proud  I  should  now  be  of  that  same  Warrington, 
outlaw  though  he  be,  but  for  this  accursed  business!" 
muttered  the  Captain  to  himself,  after  the  Indian  had 


230  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

departed,  with  a  tone  and  manner  in  which  admiration 
and  dislike,  kindness  and  resentment,  regret  and  bitter- 
ness, were  strangely  blended.  Hang  me,  if  I  don't  almost 
think  the  better  of  the  girl  for  liking  him.  Though  if 
Jake's  stories  be  true !  I  wonder  now  if  the  fellow  did 
not  lie  to  ine? — would  to  God  things  had  been  different' 
But  they  are  not  different,  and  won't  be ;  and  hell  town  ! 
what  am  I  talking  about  ?  It  can't  go — no,  no !  and  by 
the  powers  of  earth !  it  shan't  go,  an  inch  further,  or  I 
will  make  the  house  too  hot  for  her !  " 

While  the  passionate  and  unhappy  father  was  thus 
giving  vent  to  his  conflicting  feelings,  the  Indian  entered 
the  house,  and  proceeded  to  the  apartment  of  the  daughter, 
who  had  also  noted  his  approach,  and  beckoned  him  from 
the  window  to  come  to  her  room. 

"Now  tell  me,  in  the  first  place,  Neshobee,"  said  she 
eagerly,  "whether  Mr.  Sherwood  was  over  there  to  be 
taken  prisoner  with  the  rest?" 

"  Me  no  see  him." 

"You  said  yesterday,  he  was  then  there." 

"  Me  see  him,  as  me  say,  then,-— no  there  to-day  when 
we  come — guess  him  run." 

"Very  likely,  but  Darrow  was  there,  of  course,  was 
he  not?" 

*»  Him  no  there,  too." 

"  How  unfortunate !  "  exclaimed  the  maiden  with  an  air 
of  disappointment  and  regret.  "Not  even  one  of  them, 
then,  is  secured!  Well,  well,  Heaven  knows  best;  and 
in  that  I  will  still  put  my  trust.  But  what  have  you 
there?"  she  added,  as  her  quick  eye  caught  the  hand  of 
the  other  fumbling  for  something  in  his  pocket. 

"  Cappen  send  um,"  quietly  answered  Neshobee,  pulling 
out  a  billet,  which  was  instantly  snatched  from  his  hands 
by  the  eager  girl. 

"  O,  why  not  have  told  me  before !  But  you  may  go 
now,  Neshobee;  "  and  with  a  quick,  impatient  waving  of 
her  hand,  she  motioned  him  away. 

With  a  beating  heart  and  glowing  cheek,  the  happy  girl 
read  and  re-read,  many  times,  the  precious  note;  when, 
after  pondering  anxiously  and  deeply,  awhile,  she  took  her 
sheet  and  wrote,— 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  231 

"Your  few  lines,  my  dear  sir,  have  been  received,  and 
read,  I  know  not  how  many  times  over,  and  with  an  inter- 
est which  I  dare  not  acknowledge.  Your  propositions, 
too,  have  been  all  candidly,  and  even  anxiously  weighed. 
And  it  is  with  many,  very  many  regrets,  my  more  than 
friend,  that  I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  at  present 
it  were  better  that  they  be  not  complied  with.  You  first 
propose  to  come  here  openly,  explain  to  my  father  the 
reasons  which  compelled  you  to  that  course,  which  he 
pretends  so  much  to  censure,  and  claim  the  privilege  of 
addressing  me — all  the  explanations,  which  it  may  be 
needful  to  make,  would,  I  am  satisfied,  with  my  father's 
present  feelings  and  impressions,  be  better  listened  to 
from  me  than  yourself.  And  most  assuredly  they  shall 
be  made  to  him  as  soon  as  his  mood  shall  be  such  as  shall 
warrant  the  belief  that  they  will  be  received  without  pas- 
sion or  prejudice.  And  before  you  take  the  step  you  pro- 
pose, I  could  wish  also  to  see  some  change  in  his  views 
relative  to  the  match  he  has  marked  out  for  me.  And 
changed,  believe  me,  they  sooner  or  later  will  be.  Reason 
will  at  length  resume  her  sway ;  and,  to  say  nothing  of 
your  character,  the  character  of  one  of  whom  I  would  not 
willingly  speak  my  opinion,  must  soon  be  better  known 
to  him.  And  he  will  see,  and  feel,  for  himself,  that  his 
present  requirements  are  neither  wise  nor  generous.  But 
do  not,  for  my  sake,  for  your  own  sake,  beloved  friend, 
attempt  to  accomplish  all  this  now,  under  circumstances 
so  inauspicious ;  for  I  feel  it  would  be  useless ;  and  not 
only  so,  but  lead  probably,  to  the  defeat  of  the  objects, 
and  consequently  the  happiness  of  us  both.  No,  Warring- 
ton, be  patient,  trust  in  Heaven  to  expose  guiU,  and  re- 
ward innocence,  and  rely  on  the  constancy  of  her,  who  ig 
resolved  to  bring  about  a  state  of  things  when  her  lovei 
can  be  received  in  her  father's  house  with  the  kindness 
and  respect  to  which  he  is  enfitled. 

"As  an  alternative, in  case  I  disapprove  your  first  pro. 
posal,  you  request  to  be  favored  with  secret,  or  stolen  in- 
terviews,— Warrington,  Chailes  Warrington!  would  you 
recommend  such  a  course  to  a  beloved  sister?  With 
your  delicacy  of  sentiment,  with  your  admiration  of  ex- 
alted virtue,  I  know  you  would  not.  Why,  then,  ask  it 
of  one  whom  vou  propose  to  make  more  than  a  sister? 


232  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Again,  dearest  friend,  I  must  say  to  you,  no !  I  have  eve* 
disapproved  of  clandestine  meetings  : — there  is  an  air  of 
guilt. about  them — a  something  that  seems  to  imply  a 
consciousness  of  wrong,  which  innocence  and  recitude 
of  purpose  should  never  stoop  thus  tacitly  to  acknowl. 
edge.  And  the  same  views,  which  have  led  to  the  dis< 
approbation  of  these,  have,  in  most  respects,  an  equal 
application  to  the  measure  that  you  hint  it  may  be  expedi- 
ent for  us,  as  a  final  resort,  to  adopt, — a  private  elope* 
ment.  In  some  countries,  and  in  some  states  of  society, 
such  a  measure  may,  perhaps,  be  sometimes  justifiable ; 
but  is  it  so  in  a  land  like  ours,  where  force  is  rarely,  if 
ever,  used  to  defeat  the  engagements  of  lovers?  While 
armed  with  the  panoply  of  virtue  and  reason,  and  pos- 
sessed of  the  moral  courage  which  these  should  ever  im- 
part, few  females,  I  apprehend,  need  here  resort  to  this 
questionable  practice.  And  were  I  to  be  wed  to  you 
to-day,  Mr.  Warrington,  it  should  be  done  openly,  and, 
if  permitted,  in  the  presence  of  my  natural  protector. 
But  if  the  ceremony  were  fqrbidden,  I  would  then,  after 
frankly  apprising  him  of  my  intentions,  as  openly  depart 
with  you  to  a  place  where  it  would  be  allowed.  And  if 
force  were  employed  to  restrain  me,  I  would  then  throw 
myself  on  the  protection  of  him  who  would  defend,  or 
deserve  to  lose  me." 

"  You  know  not  how  rejoiced  is  my  heart  to  hear  of 
your  personal  safety, — how  proud  to  learn  your  brilliant 
successes,  and  how  gratified  at  the  promotion  you  have 
received.  You  say  you  are  about  to  proceed  south,  to 
make  enlistments  for  an  expedition  into  Canada.  Go!— 
deserve  well  of  your  country,  be  true  and  constant,  and, 
•vhile  you  remain  what  I  now  believe  you,  count  me  so, 
and  be  assured,  that  all  the  reward  that  this  poor  beart 
and  hand  can  confer,  shall  be  eventually  yours.  My 
prayers  will  attend  you  amidst  the  perils  of  war.  Ap- 
prise me  often — as  often  as  possible,  of  your  situation. 
And,  notwithstanding  I  have  declined  your  present  pro- 
posals, O,  do  not  believe  me  now,  do  not  hereafter  think 
me,  less  devotedly  yours.  Alma." 

When  Alma  had  finished  her  letter,  she  sought  her 
trusty  messenger,  and  confldfid  it  to  his  charge,  with  in' 


TUE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  233 

structions  to  convey  it  to  Warrington  at  the  fort  that 
night,  or  as  soon  as  he  could  absent  himself  without  ex- 
citing the  observation  of  her  father ;  after  which  she 
again  returned  to  her  solitary  apartment,  and  soon  sought 
her  pillow,  to  escape  the  perplexities  of  the  present  in 
the  bright  visions  of  the  future.  During  the  next  day, 
her  time  and  attention  were  more  than  usually  occupied 
by  calls  at  the  house,  from  those  passing  to  and  from  the 
fort.  And  it  was  not  till  nearly  night,  that  she  found 
an  opportunity  to  escape  from  the  company,  with  which, 
in  successive  parties,  the  cottage  had  been  thronged 
through  the  day.  But  being  relieved  at  length  from  these 
hospitable  duties,  and  wearied  with  bustle,  in  which  she 
had  been  engaged,  she  threw  a  light  kerchief  over  her 
head,  and  wandered  into  the  fields  to  indulge  in  those 
solitary  musings  so  grateful  to  separated  lovers.  The 
golden  sun  was  just  sinking  behind  the  western  hills. 
The  earth  was  a  variegated  carpet  of  flowers  beneath  her 
feet;  and,  tempted  by  the  beauty  of  the  evening,  she  con- 
tinued her  course  almost  unconsciously,  down  the  little 
vale  towards  the  woods ;  and  before  she  was  aware  how 
far  she  had  wandered,  she  had  arrived  at  the  border  of 
the  field,  and  was  standing  by  the  tree  beneath  which 
Warrington  had  first  breathed  to  her  the  word  "  love.'* 
After  indulging  awhile  in  the  associations  which  this 
sequestered  spot  awakened  in  her  mind,  she  turned,  and 
was  retracing  her  steps  homeward,  when  she  was  startled 
by  the  sharp  rattling  voice  of  some  one  a  few  rods  below 
her,  and  turning,  she  beheld  Pete  Jones  making  his  way 
up  the  slope  towards  her. 

"Hold  up  a  little  bit  there,  lady,  that  is,  if  you're  a 
mind  to,"  he  said,  respectfully  approaching  and  holding 
np  a  letter  between  his  thumb  and  finger.  "  There's  a 
little  concern  of  a  letter,  which  Captain  Selden  handed 
me  to  give  you." 

"Indeed!  an  answer  from  Skenesboro'  so  soon?"  said 
Alma,  with  a  subsiding  blush,  which  was  raised  by  the 
thought  first  occurring  to  her  mind  that  the  message 
came  from  another  quarter. 

"Answer  to  the  letter  the  nigger  had,— d'ye  mean? — 
why,  yes,  rather  s'pose  so.  Anyhow,  I  believe  it  came 
Jrom  that  little  hum-bird  of  a  girl  that  we  caught  at  that 


2S4  THE  GBESN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

small  scrape  we  had  with  the  old  podunk  of  a  Scotch* 
man  and  his  folks,  at  the  Lower  Falls,  a  week  or  two 
ago." 

"  You  mean  Miss  Reed,  probably — have  you  been  up 
to  Skenesboro'  since  you  were  here?" 

"O,  yes,  a  lot  of  us  went  up  there  yesterday,  after 
things  had  been  pretty  well  fixed  at  Old  Ti." 

"For  what  purpuse,  if  I  may  ask,  sir?" 

"  Why,  only  just  to  let  the  Major  there  know,  that  the 
Continental  Congress  had  kinder  taken  a  fancy  to  his 
stone  house.  At  all  events,  Captain  Selden  told  them 
something  of  that  sort,  as  we  made  them  all  prisoners 
there." 

"  What !  the  ladies  and  all  ?— I  trust  they  will  have  no 
reason  to  complain " 

"Ah,  you  needn't  borry  no  trouble  there  mum,  I  guess. 
The  ladies  won't  be  very  likely  to  cry  their  eyes  out,  at 
falling  into  the  hands  of  such  a  chap  as  Captain  Selden 
— now  you  see  if  they  do  I  For  instance,  mum,  by  way 
of  a  similar,"  continued  Pete,  beginning  to  look  mis- 
chievous, being  no  longer  able  to  keep  down  his  ruling 
propensity  for  joking,  "  for  instance,  suppose,  now,  that 
Major  Warrington  should  come  over  here  with  men 
enough — and  'twouldn't  take  over  a  thousand  neither, 
may  imp " 

"  You  need  not  trouble  yourself  to  explain,  sir,"  inter- 
rupted Miss  Hendee,  rather  Hurriedly.  "The  letter  will 
inform  me  of  all  particulars,  doubtless.  You  will  now 
excuse  me,  as  I  must  return.  But  perhaps  you  will  go- 
to the  house  for  some  refreshment,  or  to  remain  with  u& 
through  the  night  ?  " 

"  Why,  no, — thank'ee,  mum,"  replied  the  other,  a  little 
abashed  at  the  dignity  which  the  girl  had  assumed. 
"  No,  1  must  be  off  to  my  traps:  I  am  a  sort  of  a  water- 
mail  to  carry  orders  to-day.  Captain  Selden  sent  me  on 
this  morning,  with  despatches  to  old  thunderbolt,  Colonel 
Allen,  you  know.  Well,  the  Colonel,  he  sent  me  with  my 
little  bird  of  a  canoe  a-going  again,  like  a  football,  down 
here  to  Crown  Point,  to  notify  the  Major  to  come  up  to 
a  council  there,  to-night,  or  in  the  morning.  So  you  see 
I  must  put  on  with  my  errand,  as  I  haven't  been  to  tb6 
fort  yet.    You  may  just  tell  the  old  Captain  at  the  house, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  235 

if  you're  a  mind  to,  that  my  ague,  since  I  was  there, 
hasn't  been  very  desput,  considering." 

So  saying,  the  jolly  borderer  turned,  and  bounded  down 
the  slope  like  a  young  colt,  giving  vent  to  the  exuberance 
of  his  animal  spirits,  as  soon  as  he  was  fairly  out  of  the 
restraining  presence  of  the  lady,  in  his  favorite  old 
chorus,  "Trol,  lol,  lol  de  larly !" 

Hastening  to  the  house,  and  then  to  her  room,  Miss 
Hendee  eagerly  tore  open  the  letter  just  received,  and 
read  as  follows: 

"Be  astonished,  0,  ye  heavens!  and,  Alma  Hendee,  be 
you  thunder-struck!  as  I  know  you  will  be,  when  you 
icarn,  that  we  are — every  man  of  us, — the  Major  and  all, 
prisoners  of  war!  Yes,  I  am  a  second  time  prisoner  to 
Mr.  Selden!  What  means  it,  Alma?  There  is  some 
strange  fatality  about  it,  that  passes  nty  poor  comprehen- 
sion. 0,  for  some  one  deeply  skilled  in  scanning  the 
future — some  one  gifted  with  the  second  sight,  which  is 
claimed  by  our  Highland  seers  in  Scotland,  to  divine  to 
me  the  potent  of  this  singular  happening!  How  very 
surprised  we  all  were  when  they  landed — a  body  of  armed 
men — and  marched  up,  taking  possession  of  the  yard,  and 
disarming  our  soldiers. 

"The  Major  was  in  the  house,  and  never  mistrusted,  I 
really  believe,  what  could  be  their  object,  till  they  had 
seized  the  sloop  and  bateaux,  and,  by  their  rapid  move- 
ments in  surrounding  the  men,  put  it  out  of  his  power  to 
make  any  resistance.  All  this  was,  seemingly,  the  work 
of  a  moment.  And  before  we  had  recovered  from  the 
first  shock  of  the  surprise,  Mr.  Selden,  who  appeared  to 
be  chief  in  command,  had  entered  the  house,  and  with 
drawn  sword,  stood  before  us.  The  Major  then,  indeed, 
began  to  show  some  symptoms  of  uneasiness — more, 
however,  even  then,  I  thought,  at  the  presence  of  one, 
whom  he  evidently  has  both  feared  and  hated,  since  the 
former  visit,  than  because  he  really  supposed  he  was  in 
earnest  about  capturing  the  establishment.  After  Mr. 
Selden  had  politely  saluted  us  ladies,  he  bowed  formally 
to  the  Major,  who  returned  the  compliment  only  by  a 
vain  attempt  to  get  his  organs  of  speech  in  motion. 

"'Who?  —  what?  —  Hem!'    he     stammered,     stepping 


886  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

restlessly  about  the  room,  and  looking  daggers  at  the 
other.  '  Why,  sir — I  should  like  to  know,  sir, — yes,  sir 
•^let  me  tell  you,  sir,  what  I  think  of  you,  sir ' 

" '  O,  never  trouble  yourself,  Major,'  replied  Mr.  S.  with 
a  satirical  smile,  "  it  might  take  you  a  longer  time  than 
I  could  possibly  spare  to  devote  to  so  unimportant  a 
purpose.' 

"'Why,  sir!'  resumed  my  doughty  warrior  of  a  lady's 

parlor, — "d n  you,  sir!  do  you  mean  to  insult,  sir? — 

I'M  just  let  you  know,  sir — you'll  just  please  to  walk  out 
of  the  house,  sir !  " 

"  40,  be  patient,  Major,' rejoined  Selden,  with  the  most 
provoking  coolness.  «  Let  me  explain  to  these  ladies  the 
nature  of  our  call,  lest  they  be  unnecessarily  alarmed.' 

"He  then  informed  us  of  the  outbreaking  of  the  war, 
the  capture  of  Ticonderoga — and  the  determination  of  the 
Americans  to  possess  themselves  of  this  post,  also ;  and 
consequently  the  necessity  of  our  removal  to  some  other 
place,  to  which  he  assured  us  of  a  safe  escort. 

"<Xow,  Major,'  said  he,  turning  to  the  other,  who  had 
several  times  broken  in  on  Mr.  S.,  '  I  have  only  to  say  to 
you,  that  both  you,  and  all  your  men,  are  prisoners  of 
war.' 

"  Even  then  the  Major  could  scarcely  comprehend  what 
had  befallen  him ;  for  he  again  began  to  bluster  and 
threaten.  But  Selden,  at  once  cutting  him  short,  ordered 
him  away ;  when  they  both  left  the  house  together.  I 
never  saw  creatures  so  puzzled  and  confounded  as  were 
Marge  and  Mary  Skene.  They  neither  knew  what  to 
say  or  how  to  act.  As  for  myself,  I  could  hardly  hold  in 
till  the  gentlemen  had  left  the  room,  when  I  fairly  shed 
tears  with  the  laughter,  which  I  could  noo  repress,  at  the 
ludicrous  scene  I  had  witnessed.  In  regard  to  the  valiant 
Major,  he  will  not,  probably,  make  much  more  fuss  about 
the  affair  to-day.  To-morrow  he  will  be  considerably 
moved  at  the  disaster ;  and  by  the  next  day,  he  will  have 
so  collected  hi3  ideas  and  his  wrath,  that  he  will  be  tre- 
mendously mad. 

"  They  took  the  place  about  noon ; — since  which  we 
ladies  have  held  our  council  of  war.  And  it  has  been 
decided  that  we  take  our  departure  to-morrow  morning 
for  Albany,  where  we  shall  at  present  remain,  with  a 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  28? 

connection  of  the  Skenes.  I  should  have  certainly  pre- 
ferred, for  myself,  to  go  and  reside  with  yon.  But  I  dare 
not  name  it  to  them  ;  for  the  girls  are  already  as  jealous 
of  me  as  witches ;  and  I  well  knew,  that  should  I  make 
such  a  proposition,  it  would  he  attributed  to  a  secret  wish 
to  be  where  I  could  see  more  of  Mr.  S.  And  further,  I 
am  not  quite  sure  but  they  might  be  so  kind  as  to  com- 
municate their  suspicions  to  father;  for  I  have  a  father 
who  may  claim  a  voice  in  some  matters  as  well  as  you. 
Now  don't  draw  any  inferences  from  that  observation, 
Alma ;  because,  positively,  there  are  none  to  draw. 

"  Mr.  Selden  handed  me  your  letter,  brought  by  black 
Jack,  till  he  fell  into  the  bunds  of  the  powers  that  be.  I 
read  it  with  much  interest, — the  more  so,  perhaps,  as  I 
thought  of  the  possibility  that  we  may  yet  have  cause  to 
mingle  our  sympathies. 

"  I  shall  remain  with  the  Skenes  till  father  returns — if 
he  does  return ;  for  now  we  have  war,  I  am  rather  un- 
certain what  course  he  will  pursue.  Should  he  receive  a 
commission  that  suits  him,  he  may  engage  in  the  war. 
This,  however,  is  doubtful.  And  I  think  it  very  likely 
he  will  remain  neutral,  as  I  suspect  he  thinks  the  govern- 
ment have  not  done  him  justice.  At  all  events,  I  don't 
believe  he  feels  very  bitter  towards  the  Americans;  but 
if  lie  does,  I  know  of  one  who  don't. 

"  P.  S.  Mr.  Selden  is  to  escort  us  in  person  to  Albany  ; 
and  what  is  better,  the  Major  is  compelled  to  go  with 
the  other  prisoners  to  Ticonderoga.  His  face  is  most  un- 
reasonably long  at  this  arrangement — I  think  he  will  be 
crazy  by  to-morrow.  Marge  is  secretly  rejoiced,  and  I 
know  another  who  is  less  sad  about  it  than  she  might 
be.  I  have  had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Selden  alone, 
which  has  shown  me  that  he  can  be  serious  when  he 
pleases.  But  I  have  no  time  left  me  to  state  particulars. 
In  my  next  I  will  be  more  explicit." 

"Adieu,  adieu. 

"Jessy." 


&J8  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY& 


CHAPTER  V. 

**  With  pleasures,  hopes,  affections  gone, 
The  wretch  may  bear,  and  yet  live  on, 
Like  things  within  the  cold  rock  found 
•    Alive,  when  all's  congeal'd  around." 

During  the  week  succeeding  the  stirring  and  impot 
tant  events,  which  we  have  heen  endeavoring  to  describe 
circumstances  of  both  a  public  and  private  nature,  con. 
spired  to  bring  Miss  Hendee  in  contact  with  her  neigh- 
bors and  acquaintances,  much  more  than  usual.  The 
recent  change  of  masters  at  the  fort  having  led  to  a  new 
and  frequent  intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  of  this 
section  of  the  country,  many  of  both  sexes  had  called  at 
the  cottage,  on  their  visits  to  their  friends,  who  were 
now  members  of  the  garrison.  Business  connected  with 
her  father's  household  concerns  had  also  caused  her  to 
make  several  calls,  during  the  period  above  mentioned, 
at  the  houses  of  the  different  settlers  in  the  neighborhood. 
It  could  not  reasonably  be  supposed,  in  a  country  set- 
tlement where  people,  in  the  absence  of  other  employ- 
ment of  their  leisure,  are  usually  so  curious  respecting 
the  affairs  of  their  neighbors,  and  where  every  kind  of 
gossiping  always  finds  so  ready  a  circulation,  that  the 
visits  of  so  distinguished  a  young  gentleman  as  Warring- 
ton, at  a  house  containing  one  so  lovely  and  excellent  as 
Alma  Hendee,  had  been  suffered  to  transpire  without  be- 
ing generally  known,  and  commented  on,  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  vicinity.  Such,  at  all  events,  appeared  not 
to  have  been  the  case  in  the  present  instance :  for  Miss 
Hendee  soon  discovered  that  her  social  intercourse  with 
her  lover,  as  limited  as  it  had  recently  been,  was  well 
understood  by  nearly  every  one  of  her  acquaintance  with 
whom  she  now  happened  to  fall  in  company.  And  many 
were  the  jokes  and  banterings  which  she  was  compelled 
to  meet  on  the  subject.  But  there  was  one  circumstance 
attending  them  which  soon  struck  her  as  peculiar  and 
uncommon  in  such  kind  of  rallyings;  and  this  was, 
that,  instead  of  the  flattering  and  grateful  approvals,  and 
happy  predictions,  usually  uttered   on  such  occasion^ 


TBE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOFS.  239 

they  were  now,  in  almost  every  Instance,  accompanied 
with  some  manifestations  of  regret  or  disapprobation,  at 
the  conjectured  intimacy — some  hesitation  of  manner, 
gome  ominous  shaking  of  the  head  or  some  mysterious 
hinting  at  the  dangers  that  would  attend  the  connection, 
which  none,  at  the  same  time,  seemed  to  treat  as  one 
that  would  terminate  in  marriage.  At  first,  Alma  paid 
hut  little  attention  to  these  intimations ;  but  as  they 
were  repeated,  they  began  to  occasion  her  considerable 
uneasiness.  And  when  she  found  them  coming  from  all 
quarters,  prudence  would  no  longer  permit  her  to  pass 
them  unheeded.  And  she  began  to  busy  her  mind  in 
trying  to  account  for  impressions,  which  she  supposed 
to  be  much  too  general  to  be  attributed  to  chance 
opinions,  or  personal  prejudices.  She  felt  satisfied  that 
this  feeling  could  not  proceed  from  any  wish  to  favor 
Sherwood's  pretensions  to  her  hand ;  for  she  well  knew 
he  was  no  favorite  with  the  people  at  large.  Nor  could 
she  perceive  how  it  could  arise  from  any  ill  opinion  enter- 
tained against  Warrington,  who,  as  she  had  been  told, 
was  held  in  the  highest  estimation  by  the  settlers  gen- 
erally, both  for  the  signal  services  he  had  publicly  ren- 
dered them,  and  for  the  many  excellent  traits  of  his  pri- 
vate character.  Although  delicacy  of  feeling,  as  well 
as  prudence,  prevented  her  making  any  inquiries  of 
those  who  had  introduced  this  subject,  yet  the  amount 
of  what  she  had  gathered  from  them  seemed  to  indicate 
the  existence  of  some  insurmountable  barrier  to  the 
union,  to  which  she  had  recently  engaged  herself.  But 
what  the  nature  of  this  obstacle  could  be,  she  was  wholly 
unable  to  conjecture. 

One  day,  after  making  one  of  her  excursions  among 
the  settlers,  she  had  returned  home  under  an  unusual 
depression  of  spirits,  occasioned  by  some  hints  aud 
warnings  of  a  more  pointed  nature  than  she  had 
before  received,  together  with  the  mortifying  reflection 
that  her  views  and  feelings,  in  regard  to  her  secretly 
contemplated  union,  had  found  no  response  in  the 
minds  of  her  acquaintance.  Although  an  easy  cre- 
dulity formed  no  part  of  the  discriminating  mind  of 
Miss  Hendee,  yet  prudence  and  discretion  were  ever 
among  the  leading  traits  of  her  finely  balanced  character. 


240  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

And  these  taught  her  the  necessity  of  pausing  in  thfji 
path  she  had  begun  to  tread,  lest  it,  indeed,  should  be 
found  to  be  beset  with  dangers,  which  had  been  concealed 
from  her  view.  She  recalled  to  mind  some  insinuations 
thrown  out  by  Sherwood  at  his  late  visit,  by  which  she 
now,  on  reflection,  supposed  he  intended  she  should  be- 
iieve  that  Warrington  was  not  only  a  libertine,  but 
that  he  had,  by  a  clandestine  marriage,  entered  into  with 
some  of  his  victims  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing 
his  designs,  put  it  out  of  his  own  power  to  contract  a 
legal  marriage  with  another.  Considering  those  insinua- 
tions at  the  time  entirely  false  and  malicious,  she  had 
instantly  rejected  them  from  her  mind,  without  paying 
attention  enough  to  them  to  examine  the  import  of  the 
words  by  which  they  were  conveyed.  But  now,  on  re- 
curring to  the  subject,  and  comparing  Sherwood's  words 
with  the  dark  hints  she  had  since  received  from  others, 
she  could  not  but  be  startled  with  the  coincidence  she  per- 
ceived in  all  the  different  intimations  that  she  had  heard. 
And  the  more  she  reflected  on  the  various  remarks  of 
her  acquaintance,  all  seeming  to  tend  to  the  same  point, 
and  to  be  strangely  corroborative  of  each  other,  the 
more  apprehensive  she  became  of  the  existence  of  some 
fact,  which  would  not  only  level  with  the  dust  the  fair 
fabric  of  prospective  happiness  she  had  lately  been  rear- 
ing, but  would  place  her  in  no  enviable  position  before 
the  public,  when  the  step  she  had  taken  should  become 
known. 

While  Miss  Hendee  was  revolving  these  distracting 
thoughts  in  her  mind,  that  had  now  reached  that  state 
of  uncertainty  and  fluctuation  which  peculiarly  fits  it 
for  the  reception  of  questionable  statements,  her  reflec- 
tions were  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  a  man,  who 
announced  himself  as  a  tinker,  wishing  to  know  whether 
there  were  any  wares  in  the  house  which  required  the 
aid  of  his  profession.  Being  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
he  pulled  off  his  pack,  and,  producing  his  tools,  went  to 
work  on  such  utensils  as  were  brought  him  for  repair- 
ing. He  was  a  man  of  a  loquacious  turn ;  and  he  had 
scarcely  become  seated  at  his  work,  before  his  tongue 
was  going  as  rapidly  as  his  hammer.  Being  somewhat 
amused  at  the  remarks  she  beard  him  make  to  Ruth, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  241 

ttie  domestic  of  whom  we  have  before  spoken,  Alma 
soon  quitted  the  adjoining  room,  where  she  had  seated 
herself,  and,  entering  the  kitchen,  took  a  seat,  and  fell 
into  conversation  with  the  talkative  stranger,  occasionally 
asking  a  question  herself,  and  good-naturedly  answering 
the  various  questions  he  put  to  her,  as  he  rapidly 
roved  from  subject  to  subject,  in  so  disconnected  a  man- 
ner, that  it  would  have  puzzled  a  philosopher  to  have 
traced  the  association  of  the  man's  ideas. 

"Your  fort  over  here  has  lately  changed  masters,  I 
learn,"  he  carelessly  observed,  after  he  had  started  and 
despatched  every  other  topic  which  he  apparently  could 
think  of  as  connected  with  the  affairs  of  the  neighborhood, 
— "  I  wonder  who  has  the  command  of  the  place  under 
the  new  order  of  things?" 

"  Major  Warrington,  I  believe,"  replied  Alma,  as  a 
slight  tinge  overspread  her  fair  cheek. 

"Major  Warrington,  Warrington,  did  you  say?"  said 
the  man  inquiringly,  repeating  the  name  :  "  not  Charles 
Warrington  of  Bennington  way?" 

"  Yes,  the  same,  sir,"  replied  the  other. 

"  Now  T  want  to  know!  Do  tell  us  if  he  has  got  to  be 
a  Major?"  half  exclaimed,  and  half  inquired  the  seem- 
ingly surprised  tinker. 

"Is  he  a  former  acquaintance  of  yours,  sir?"  asked 
Alma,  turning  with  a  look  of  interest  to  the  man. 

"Lord,  yes!"  exclaimed  he,  with  great  apparent  sim- 
plicity. "  Why,  ma'am,  I  have  known  him  ever  since  he 
was  knee  high  to  a  toad—used  to  live  in  the  same  town 
with  him  and  his  father's  family,  in  old  Connecticut,  be- 
fore they  moved  to  the  Grants,  and  have  seen  Charles 
there  often  since,  on  his  visits  back  among  his  relations 
— and — and  old  sweethearts,"  he  continued,  looking  up 
roguishly  to  Alma,  as  if  to  see  how  the  last  remark  "took 
with  her,  but  perceiving  the  uneasiness  of  her  looks,  he 
jocosely  added,  «  Why,  I  spose  the  girls  know  that  the 
young  men  will  have  sweethearts,  don't  they  ?  " 

"  I  pretend  not  to  know  young  gentlemen's  business, 
sir,"  replied  Alma,  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  suppressed 
emotion. 

"  Well,  welh  I  meant  no  offence,"  rejoined  the  tinker, 
seemingly  abashed  at  the  poor  reception  of  his  rally. 
16 


242  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTk. 

"You  have  given  me  none,  sir/'  timidly  remarKed  the 
other.     **  But  I  think  you  said  you  had  kept  up  your  ac- 
quaintance with    Mr.   Warrington,  and  you   may  know 
whether — that  is  you — "  and  she  paused,  unable  from  the 
fluttering  of  her  heart  to  proceed  with  an   inquiry,  the 
answer  to  which  would  probably  involve  her  every  hope 
of  happiness  for  life:  for  she  felt  that  this  plain  and  ap- 
parently honest   man,  with  his  intimate    knowledge  of 
Warrington's  previous  life  and  character,  would  be  able 
to  furnish  her  testimony,  which  would  remove  her  ap- 
prehensions, or  confirm  them,  and  seal  her  doom  forever. 

"May  know  what,  marm '( "  asked  he,  after  waiting 
patiently  awhile  for  her  to  proceed. 

Alma  made  an  effort  to  go  on  ;  but  so  great  was  her 
agitation  that  she  could  not  utter  a  syllable,  and  she 
remained  silent. 

"  Yes,  I  know  all  about  Charles  Warrington  as  well  as 
any  other  ma5i,"  resumed  the  fellow,  after  he  saw  the 
other  was  not  likely  to  go  on  with  her  inquiry.  "  A  con- 
siderable of  a  chap  he  is,  too.  In  fact  he  is  a  smart  fel- 
low ;  and  a  lively  one,  too,  In  the  main.  I  never  knew 
but  one  mean  trick  about  him  in  my  life  ;  and  that  wag 
shuffling  off  and  deserting  that  poor  simple  wife  of  his, 
that  he  married  kinder  privately  there  in  Connecticut,  a 
year  or  two  ago." 

Had  a  winged  shaft  from  an  Indian's  bow,  at  that  in- 
stant been  driven  through  the  heart  of  Alma  Hendee,  the 
convulsive  start,  the  sudden  contraction  of  the  muscles  of 
her  face,  and  the  fearful  death-gasp,  would  have  been 
scarcely  more  visible  than  was  the  effect  of  the  words,  of 
the  last  speaker.  She  sat  a  moment  as  if  suddenly  par- 
alyzed in  ail  her  senses.  Presently  commenced  the 
twitching,  nervous  motion  of  her  fingers,  as  she  rapidly 
handled  over  the  work  in  her  lap.  Then  suddenly  rising 
she  went  to  the  window,  and  gasping  for  breath,  stood  an 
instant  vacantly  gazing  out  upon  the  landscape,  with  a 
face  as  white  as  the  bloodless  marble.  She  then  turned 
quickly  away,  and  with  hurried,  unsteady  steps,  rushed 
out  of  the  room.  Reaching  her  own  apartment,  she  again 
stopped  short,  and  remained  several  moments  mure  and 
motionless  as  a  statue,  while  the  woe-stricken  expression 
of  her  countenance  aad,  the  silent  workings  in  the  musclea 


THE  GliEEN  MOUNTAIN"  BOYS.  24S 

of  her  blanched  and  beautiful  features,  as  she  stood,  like  a 
tearless  Niobe,  with  her  anguished  eye  upcast  to  heaven, 
and  both  hands  pressed  tightly  against  her  h^art,  told, 
more  forcibly  than  language  can  express  the  mental 
agony  with  which  she  was  contending. 

After  Alma  left  the  room,  the  miserable  wretch,  whc 
had  so  cruelly  inflicted  this  dreadful  blow  upon  her  feel, 
ings,  hurried  through  his  work,  received  his  stipulated 
wages,  and  departed.  No  sooner  had  he  turned  his  back 
than  the  faithful  Ruth,  who  had  noticed,  and  understood 
all  that  had  passed,  hastened  with  looks  of  visible  con- 
cern, to  the  apartment  of  her  idolized  young  mistress. 

"  Alma ! "  said  she,  tenderly  placing  her  hand  on  the 
now  burning  brow  of  the  suffering  girl,  who  had  flung 
herself  upon  her  bed,  where  she  was  lying,  with  one 
hand  pressing  her  closed  eyelids  and  the  other  her  side : 
"Alma,  your  forehead  is  very  hot — shall  I  bathe  it?" 

"No,  no,  Ruth,"  faintly  murmured  the  fair  sufferer, 
"  it  is  no  attack  of  disease :  my  head,  I  know,  is  some 
fevered,  and  my  eyes  are  sore,  very  sore ;  but  the  trouble 
is  here!"  she  added,  indicating  the  spot  by  lifting  and 
replacing  her  hand  upon  her  heart. 

"  I  was  aware  of  your  feelings  in  some  measure,  Alma," 
replied  the  other  soothingly,  "  and  being  like  yourself, 
deceived  in  the  character  of  the  man  of  your  secret  choice, 
1  confess,  I  did  not  disapprove  of  your  partiality.  But, 
now,  Alma,  should  you  not  be  thankful  that  you  have 
made  this  discovery  in  season  to  retrace  your  steps,  and 
escape  the  danger?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I  am,  I  certainly  am  ;  but  O,  Ruth,  Ruth, 
you  little  knew  how  much  I  loved  him !  and  oh !  how 
cruelly — cruelly  has  he  repaid  my  lavish  affection !  " 

With  this  the  sealed  fountain  of  her  tears  suddenly 
opened.  And  as  the  pearly  drops  flowed  thick  and  fast 
over  her  lovely  cheeks,  she  breathed  more  freely;  and 
the  torture,  the  scorching,  tearless  agony,  that  she  had 
felt  withering  both  heart  and  brain,  was  removed,  giving 
place  to  the  mitigated  suffering  of  ordinary  sorrow,  in 
which  she  long,  long  indulged,  while  her  faithful  domes- 
tic, in  character  of  nurse  and  friend,  watched  over,  and 
comforted  her. 

The  next  morning,  when  Miss  Hendee  arose,  she  was 


244  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

calm  and  composed,  though  looking  extremely  pale.  Hei 
appearance  very  plainly  told  that  the  struggle  she  had 
passed  through  had  been  a  fearful  one  ;  but  it  told,  also, 
that  she  had  not  struggled  in  vain  for  the  mastery  over 
her  feelings.  Though  her  heart  had  been  pierced  and 
lacerated,, she  seemed  to  have  succeeded  in  silencing  it? 
throbbings.  There  was  a  decision  in  her  looks  and  move 
ments,  that  indicated  the  stern  and  unwavering  resolves 
she  had  made.  And  in  pursuance  of  the  course  she  had 
marked  out  for  herself,  it  was  her  first  object  to  despatch 
such  a  notice  to  Warrington  of  her  determination,  as 
should  effectually  deter  him  from  attempting  any  re- 
newal of  the  intercourse.  Accordingly,  after  she  had 
superintended,  as  usual,  the  household  affairs  of  the 
family  for  the  morning,  she  retired,  and  penned  this  brief 
note : — 

"  Major  Warrington  :— Our  intimacy  is  forever  ended. 
As  no  explanations  need  be  given,  so  none  will  be  re- 
ceived. I  trust,  therefore,  that  no  further  communica- 
tions on  your  part  will  be  attempted. 

"  Alma  Hendee." 

Sealing  the  note,  she  summoned  Neshobee  to  her  room, 
and  with  the  same  desperate  sort  of  calmness  which  she 
had  exhibited  through  the  morning,  though  with  a  slight 
tremor  in  her  voice,  she  said  to  him: 

"  Here,  Neshobee,  take  this  to  Major  Warrington  with- 
out delay,  if  you  can  find  him  within  twenty  miles  of  this 
place.  But  1  understand  that  there  was  a  vessel,  with 
sevei  al  boats  filled  with  troops,  arrived  from  the  south 
last  night ;  and  he  probably  came  with  them,  as  he  has 
been  absent  from  the  fort,  I  am  told,  for  the  purpose  of 
enlisting  more  men.  Go,  give  it  him ;  and  do  not  stay 
an  instant  for  an  answer,  or  to  give  him  a  chance  to  ques- 
tion you." 

The  Indian,  who  perceived  both  in  her  words  and  man- 
ner, that  some  sudden  change  had  taken  place  in  the  con- 
nection, which  he  was  aware  existed  between  her  and  his 
friend,  Warrington,  threw  a  keen  inquiring  glance  upon 
the  face  of  his  mistress,  and  seemed  to  hesitate  and  linger, 
as  if  for  an  explanation  of  so  unesnected  an  errand.    But 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  245 

receiving  only  an  impatient  motion  of  her  hand  for  his 
immediate  departure,  he  turned  away,  and  with  an  air  of 
mingled  wonder  and  regret,  left  the  house  in  silence,  and 
proceeding  to  his  skiff  at  the  landing,  rowed  directly 
over  to  the  fort.  When  he  arrived  there  he  found  all  in 
bustle  and  commotion,  preparatory  to  an  expedition  into 
Canada.  Allen,  Warrington,  and  Arnold  had  arrived, 
as  before  intimated,  the  evening  previous,  with  a  schooner 
and  a  number  of  bateaux,  filled  with  a  considerable  body 
of  troops,  collected  for  the  contemplated  expedition,  all 
of  whom  were  now  on  the  point  of  embarking,- — Arnold 
in  the  schooner,  with  such  Massachusetts  troops  as  had 
arrived  since  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  and  were  now 
properly  under  his  command,  and  Allen  and  Warrington, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  forces,  in  the  bateaux.  As 
soon  as  the  Indian  reached  the  shore  he  sought  out  War- 
rington, and  put  the  note  into  his  hand.  Receiving  it  as 
one  who  might  be  expecting  a  favor  of  the  kind,  the 
latter  carefully  put  the  supposed  prize  into  his  pocket, 
and  informing  the  messenger,  that  he  had  one  for  him  to 
take  back  to  his  mistress  in  return,  he  turned  to  finish 
the  directions  he  was  at  that  moment  engaged  in  impart- 
ing to  his  men.  When  he  had  completed  the  business 
immediately  on  hand,  he  turned  to  look  for  Neshobee, 
that  he  might  take  him  into  the  ."ort  to  receive  the  letter 
he  intended  to  send  back  by  him.  "But  after  searching 
for  him  in  vain  among  the  men,  he  cast  his  eye  on  to  the 
lake,  and  to  his  surprise  and  vexation,  he  beheld  the 
native  rapidly  pulling  for  the  opposite  shore,  and  already 
out  of  hailing  distance.  Still  supposing,  however,  that 
the  messenger  had  misunderstood  his  request,  the  im- 
patient lover  hastened  to  a  solitary  room  in  the  fort  for 
the  purpose  of  reading  the  precious  paper  alone,  and  add- 
ing a  postscript  to  the  one  he  had  written,  that  he  might 
despatch  it  by  a  special  messenger  before  he  embarked. 
As  soon  as  he  was  alone,  he  eagerly  broke  the  seal  of 
Alma's  brief  note,  and  read,  with  the  most  unmingled 
pain  and  astonishment,  its  unexpected  contents.  Hastily 
rising  from  the  seat  he  had  taken,  he,  for  many  minutes 
rapidly  paced  the  room  in  silence,  while  the  agitation 
visibly  depicted  on  his  manly  countenance  plainly  be- 
spoke the  depth  and  bitterness  of  his  emotion. 


246  TTJE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Yes,  noble  girl,"  he  at  length  mournfully  said,  "in- 
capable  of  intrigue  and  meanness  yourself,  you  have,  m 
some  way,  unsuspectingly  become  a  victim  to  the  snares 
of  a  villain  !  It  is — it  must  be  so.  A  deception  has  been 
practised  upon  you — a  gross  deception  could  alone  have 
prompted  to  a  measure  so  sudden,  so  cruel,  so  inconsist- 
ent, and  so  destructive,  as  1  know  it  must  be  to  your 
own  happiness.  Well,  well,  I  have  no  leisure  now,  even 
if  I  would,  to  enter  the  lists  with  this  despicable  plotter 
of  mischief,  who  has  thus  entered  our  Eden,  and  turned 
its  happiness  to  sorrow,  in  trying  to  ferret  out  his  vil- 
lainies, or  compete  with  him  in  his  low  game  of  intrigue 
and.  deception.  I  must  leave  you,  too  credulous  girl,  to 
discover  for  yourself  the  arts  by  which  you  have  been 
duped,  and  the  injustice  you  have  done  me — till  then, 
farewell — till  then,  be  my  country  my  heart's  only  mis' 
tress." 

Before  another  hour  had  elapsed,  Warrington  had  em 
barked  with  his  troops,  and,  with  the  gallant  and  war- 
like array  with  which  he  was  borne  down  the  lake,  had 
passed  from  the  scene  of  his  love  and  disappointment 
on  his  way  to  fields  of  blood  and  glory. 

It  comes  not  within  the  scope  of  our  design  to  accom- 
pany our  Green  Mountain  Boys  through  the  eventful 
campaign  that  followed  their  present  embarkation,  or 
to  attempt  to  trace  the  varied  fortunes  of  their  gallant 
leaders, — the  daring,  talented,  and  chivalrous  Allen,  who 
in  his  heroic  attempt  on  Montreal,  was  taken  prisoner  and 
carried  to  England  in  irons,  and  there  kept  through  a  long 
and  doleful  captivity,  which  deprived  his  country  of  the 
aid  of  one  of  her  most  energetic  sons  during  the  most  try- 
ing period  of  the  war, — the  skilful,  cool,  and  intrepid 
Warrington,  whose  conduct  soon  won  for  him  the  admira- 
tion of  his  country, — the  gay  and  gifted  Selden,  whose 
sword  and  pen  were  alike  successfully  wielded  in  the 
cause, — and  the  jolly  and  fearless  Jones,  who  became 
known  as  the  most  sagacious  and  trusty  scout-leader  in 
the  northern  army.  These,  and  the  brave,  resolute  and 
patriotic  men  under  their  command,  who  soon,  by  their 
courage  and  success  in  battle,  and  their  fidelity  to  the 
cause  of  freedom,  rendered  the  name  of  Green  Mountain 
Boys  a  terror  to  their  foes,  and  an  appellation  of  honor 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY 8.  247 

among  their  admiring  countrymen,  we  must  now  leave 
to  struggle  with  their  enemies  abroad,  while  we  remain 
on  the  spot  we  have  chosen  as  the  scene  of  our  story, 
there  to  wait  their  return  to  make  the  place  once  more 
the  theatre  of  glorious  conflict. 

From  this  time  for  a  period  of  about  two  years,  there 
was  a  pause  in  the  action  of  our  story.  Although  the 
events  which  formed  its  commencement  were  intimately 
connected  with  those  attending  its  catastrophe,  yet  noth- 
ing occurred,  during  that  interval,  particularly  to  vary 
the  aspect  of  the  one,  or  to  hasten  the  other.  And  the 
relative  situation  of  all  the  different  individuals  of  our 
"  dramatis  persona?,"  from  this  time  separated  and  scat- 
tered in  various  directions,  remained  nearly  unaltered,  till 
the  tide  of  war,  combined  with  other  circumstances, 
brought  them  again  together  to  figure  on  the  scene  of 
action  where  we  have  thus  far  described  them.  "We  pro- 
pose, therefore,  to  pass  lightly  over  this  interval,  and 
with  a  few  observations,  by  way  of  noticing  the  situation 
and  progress  of  affairs  in  the  Hendee  family  in  the  mean- 
while, we  shall  proceed  at  once  to  the  closing  period  of 
our  story. 

From  the  hour  of  her  supposed  discovery  of  the  dupli- 
city and  base  conduct  of  Warrington,  life  was  but  a  joyless 
blank  to  Alma  Hendee.  Although  by  the  fortitude  and 
firmness  of  her  character,  aided  by  female  pride,  which 
had  been  deeply  wounded  by  the  mortifying  development, 
she  had  succeeded  in  her  determined  efforts  to  keep  from 
sinking  under  the  cruel  disappointment,  yet  she  could  not 
but  feel  that  the  young  affections,  which  she  had  thus 
lucklessly  suffered  to  entwine  round  her  heart,  and  root 
themselves  in  its  very  core,  were  withered  never  to  be  re- 
vived to  their  original  freshness  at  the  bidding  of  another. 
In  the  unbounded  confidence  of  her  youthful  love,  she  had 
squandered  her  heart's  best  treasures  on  one  from  whom 
neither  pride  nor  principle  would  longer  suffer  her  to 
accept  a  return.  And  she  was  deeply  conscious  that  she 
could  never  gather  them  again,  to  bestow  them  on  a  more 
worthy  object,  or  where  they  would  yield  her  the  earthly 
happiness  to  which  she  had  begun  to  look  so  fondly  for- 
ward in  her  anticipated  connection. 

It  is  an  interesting  and  beautiful  trait  in  the  character 


248  TUE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

of  woman's  affections,  that  she  never  truly  worships  but 
at  one  altar.  If  that  remains  to  her,  though  no  new  at- 
traction be  added, — no  new  inducement  offered  to  ensure 
the  continuance  of  her  devotion, — she  asks  no  more,  but 
worships  on,  and  on,  more  deeply  and  fervently,  till  the 
heart,  that  offers  the  homage,  ceases  in  death  to  cling  to 
all  earthly  objects.  But  if  that  is  destroyed  or  removed, 
the  incense  of  her  heart  passes  away  with  it.  She  may, 
indeed,  sometimes  be  found  kneeling  at  another  shrine, 
and  offering  up  the  forms  of  devotion,  but  the  life,  the 
spirit  of  the  worship  is  forever  gone. 

After  the  rupture  between  Miss  PTendee  and  Warring- 
ton,  Sherwood  became,  for  a  while,  unusually  constant 
in  his  visits  at  Captain  Hendee's,  and  quite  assiduous  in 
his  attention  to  the  listless  girl,  to  whom  they  were  of- 
fered.   At  his  first  call,  after  that  event,  he  soon,  and 
with  a  malicious  satisfaction,  discovered  that  the  arts  he 
had  put  in  practice  had  been  crowned  with  success.     This 
he  not  only  read  in  her  pale  face,  in  which  the  settled  air 
of  gloom  and  disappointment  were  visibly  depicted,  but 
also,  in  her  altered,  and  more  respectful  manner  towards 
himself,  which,  without  any  change  of  opinion  respecting 
his  general  character,  she  very  naturally,  though  uncon- 
sciously, perhaps,  exhibited  towards  him,  as  to  one  whom 
she  now  exonerated  from  the  particular  charges  to  which 
she  believed  him  obnoxious.     Having  satisfied  himself  of 
this  state  of  things,  he  at  first  cunningly  forbore  to  re- 
new his  former  pretensions  to  her  hand.     In  a  short  time, 
however,  he  began  again  to  make  professions  of  attach- 
ment, and,  without  asking  of  her  any  other  than  the  tacjt 
acquiescence  she  had  formerly  yielded,  talked  of  their 
engagement  as  of  a  settled  business,  and  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred  to  alter  the  relation  formerly  existing  between 
them.    These  addresses  Alma  rather  suffered  than  re- 
ceived ;  and  the  affair  between  them  was,  in  this  manner, 
allowed  by  her  to  fall  into  much  the  same  train  in  which 
it  was  moving  on  "Warrington's  appearance.     And  yet 
she  still  had  but  little  thought  of  uniting  her  destinies 
with  those  of  Sherwood;  but  continuing  to  hope  that 
something  would  eventually  occur  to  save  her  from  the 
dreaded  fate,  she  permitted  the  affair  to  glide  along  as 
she  had  formerly  done,  solely  out  of  regard  to  the  feelings 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  i.  'i 

of  her  father  and  the  interests  of  the  family.  And,  in- 
deed, now,  more  than  ever,  did  it  seem  necessary,  that 
the  family  should  avoid  a  rupture  with  Sherwood,  as  they 
were  becoming  more  and  more  dependent  on  his  assist 
ance.  With  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution,  the  half 
pay  which  Captain  Hendee  had  before  regularly  received, 
and  which  had  constituted  his  main  dependence,  ceased 
to  be  transmitted.  And  he  was  therefore  driven  to  avail 
himself,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  offers  of  Sherwood  to 
loan  him  money  to  meet  his  exigencies.  In  this  manner 
Miss  Hendee  wore  away  about  two  years  of  her  dull  and 
joyless  existence,  finding  nothing  in  the  present  to  con- 
sole or  cheer  her  desponding  mind,  and  seeing  nothing 
but  clouds  and  darkness  in  the  future  ;  when  an  incident 
occurred  that  threw  a  new  light  upon  her  dark  and 
cheerless  path,  and  produced  a  revolution  in  her  whole 
views  and  feelings,  as  sudden  and  complete,  as  the  event 
which  caused  it  was  singular  and  unexpected. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  A  sudden  joy  lights  up  my  loneliness." 

It  was  a  soft  and  balmy  evening,  in  that  loveliest  of  all 
months  of  the  year  in  our  northern  clime,  delightfulJune, 
when  two  ladies  were  seen  issuing  from  the  Hendee  cot- 
tage, to  wander  abroad,  to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  the 
evening,  and  hold,  in  the  solitudes  of  the  fields,  that  con- 
fidential communion  on  the  subjects  of  mutual  concern, 
which  is  ever  interesting  to  friends,  who  have  just  met 
after  a  long  separation.  One  was  in  height  something 
above  the  ordinary  standard  of  women,  but  with  a  form 
as  faultless  as  the  chiselled  marble.  Her  carriage  and 
general  demeanor,  though  easy  and  graceful,  were  yet 
not  of  that  light  and  joyous  kind,  which  generally 
bespeaks  corresponding  lightness  of  heart,  but  were 
marked,  rather,  by  that  serious,  drooping  cast,  that  tells 
of  secret  cares  and  sorrows ;  while  an  air  of  deep  and 
pensive  thoughtfulness  rested  in  her  dark  blue  eyes,  and 
overspread  her  somewhat  Dale,  though  exquisitely  moulded 


250  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

features.  The  other  female  was  a  trifle  smaller, 'and  as 
volatile  as  a  child  in  her  movements.  The  very  reverse 
of  her  companion,  she  seemed  to  be  the  creature  of  joy- 
ous impulses.  Though  both  possessed  far  more  than  an 
ordinary  shape  of  personal  beauty,  yet  their  beauty  was 
of  an  entirely  different  order;  for  while  the  appearance 
of  the  former  was  calm,  intellectual,  and  commanding, 
that  of  the  latter  was  sprite-like  and  playful,  partaking 
largely  of  that  certain  prettiness,  that  eccentric  will-o'- 
the-wisp  sort  of  witchery,  which  men  generally  pursue 
eagerly  rather  than  worship  profoundly.  They  were  both 
old  acquaintances  of  the  reader,  and  we  will,  therefore, 
allow  them  to  announce  themselves  by  the  conversation  that 
now  ensued  between  them. 

"Now  tell  me,  Alma,"  said  the  smaller  girl,  "for,  in 
spite  of  all  the  dogged  silence  you  have  shown  in  your 
letters  on  the  subject,  I  determined  I  would  know  the 
first  time  I  saw  you — tell  me,  I  say,  what  was  the  true 
reason  of  your  dismissing  Warrington." 

"There  are  some  things,  Jessy,"  replied  the  other,  "which 
involve  such  imputations  on  our  own  prudence  and  dis- 
cernment, and  are,  of  themselves,  so  humiliating  to  our 
feelings,  that  we  can  hardly  bring  ourselves  even  in  thought 
to  recur  to  them, — much  less  to  reveal  them  to  others. 
And  this  is  the  main  reason  why  I  have  never  apprised 
you  of  the  fact  you  seek  to  know." 

"Yes,  but  I  shall  not  let  you  off  on  such  a  reason,  you 
may  depend  upon  it.  Come,  come,  girl,  I  will  be  your 
confessor,  and  the  more  crossing  to  your  feelings  the 
confession,  why  the  more  it  will  be  for  your  good,  if  the 
Catholic  priests  are  in  the  right  of  it." 

"No,  Jessy,  let  us  forget  the  subject.  I  would  not 
again  disturb  my  feelings  by  recalling  to  mind  the  man 
who  once  caused  me  so  much  sorrow.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  I  was  grossly  deceived  in  his  character." 

"Deceived!  How  deceived? — now  I  tell  you,  Alma 
Hendee,  I  will  know,  and,  as  I  am  to  live  with  you  till 
father  returns  from  England,  I  w'll  thorn  you  night  and 
day,  till  you  tell  me." 

"Well,  then,  Jessy,  if  you  must  know,  the  cause  of  my 
discarding  him  was  the  best  of  all  causes;  because  he 
could   never  be   lawfully   mine;    for,    wherever  his    heart 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  251 

may  have  been,  his  hand  belonged  to  another.  And 
while  he  was  vowing  his  heart  to  me,  he  was  the  husband 
of  a  living  wife  in  Connecticut.  What  say  you  to  a  de- 
ception like  that,  Jessy?" 

"Why,  monster! — if  so — but  how  know  you  that  fact, 
Alma?" 

"I  received  intimations  of  it  from  various  sources, 
which  I  disbelieved,  when  a  man  called  here  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  Warrington's  whole  career,  and  he  con- 
firmed all  that  I  had  heard." 

"Warrington — the  high-minded,  and  brave  Colonel 
Warrington,  guilty  of  baseness  like  that? — Impossible! 
Are  you  quite  sure  that  there  is  not  some  mistake,  or  some 
intended  deception,  about  this,  Alma?" 

"Yes,  yes, — think  not  that,  with  my  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  the  man,  I  should  have  been  brought  to  be- 
lieve this  easily.  And  Oh!  if  you  knew  what  the  dis- 
covery cost  me!" 

"But  did  you  apprise  him  of  this  discovery?" 

"No" 

"Why?" 

"Simply,  because,  as  I  was  fully  satisfied  of  the  fact, 
all  attempted  explanations  would  not  only  fail  to  mend 
the  matter,  but  make  it  worse,  by  continuing  a  corre- 
sondence  which  would  be  ruinous  to  me,  and  disgraceful 
to  us  both." 

"Alma  Hendee,  I  can  hardly  believe  this  strange 
story.  I  fear  you  have  been  deceived.  I  wish  I  had 
known  it  before.  Neither  Colonel  Warrington,  nor  Cap- 
tain Selden,  have  the  least  idea  that  such  were  your 
reasons  for  the  sudden,  and,  to  them,  unaccountable 
step  you  took.  I  have  conversed  with  them  both  on 
the  subject;  and  they  both  believe,  I  imagine,  that  you 
were  either  coerced  by  your  father,  or  were  laboring 
under  some  misapprehensions.  Mr.  Selden,  I  know,  be- 
lieves this;  and  he  told  me  on  our  way  here,  that  if  you 
would  keep  yourself  from  becoming  entangled  with  Sher- 
wood, the  affair  might  yet  be  reconciled  between  you  and 
the  Colonel,  who  yet  cherishes  for  you  all  his  former 
sentiments." 

"It  never  will  be  reconciled,  however,  Jessy." 


'252  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS, 

"  Why,  you  have  not  seriously  determined  to  marrj 
Sherwood,  have  you  ?  " 

"I  can  hardly  bring  myself,  I  own,  to  think  seriously 
of  such  a  sacrifice,"  said  Alma  mournfully.  "  I  certainly 
never  should  harbor  the  thought  a  moment,  if  I  had  now 
any  other  object  to.  live  for,  than  to  render  my  infirm  and 
embarrassed  father  as  happy  as  possible.  This  I  see 
but  one  way  of  doing.  And  as  my  own  hopes  of  happi- 
ness are  gone,  should  it  not  now  be  my  duty  to  attend  to 
his  in  the  only  way  I  can  accomplish  it  ?  At  best  it  is 
but  a  dark  and  dreary  prospect  that  lies  before  me,  Jessy. 
And  let  us  turn  from  it  now  to  your  own,  which  has  at 
least  hope  to  brighten  it." 

"  Yes,  hope,  faith,  and  resolution,  come  what  will,  ex- 
cept such  a  damper  as  you  received.  By  the  way,  Alma, 
did  not  you  think  that  your  father  was  a  good  deal  taken 
with  Selden  for  so  brief  an  acquaintance  as  his  short  stay 
with  us  to-day  afforded?" 

"  I  did,  indeed,  and  with  great  pleasure,  notice  it.  And 
well  my  father  might  be  pleased  with  him  ;  for  I  know 
no  gentleman  whom  I — — " 

"Take  care!  take  caret'*  briskly  interrupted  the 
vivacious  Jessy.  "Be  cautious  how  far  you  proceed  with 
your  praises,  Miss !  " 

"  I  will  be  moderate  rather  than  alarm  you,  then," 
replied  Alma,  smiling. 

"  Well,  see  that  you  are ;  or  I'll  be  jealous  as  sure  as 
you  live.  Besides,  I  don't  care  a  fig  about  obtaining 
your  praises  for  him.  But  Captain  Hendee's  good  opinion 
of  him  is  a  point  gained  with  me  j  for  my  father,  you  know, 
has  placed  me,  and  my  destinies,  too,  for  aught  I  know, 
i:;  the  Captain's  hands  for  the  present.  I  wish  I  could 
get  a  peep  at  that  letter  of  instructions,  as  I  suppose  it 
was,  which  I  brought  from  my  father  to  yours.  What 
caiuious  old  things  these  papas  are  about  us  girls,  are 
they  not  now  ?  " 

"  Your  father,  then,  suspects  your  attachment — does 
he?" 

"Why,  that  is  what  I  am  myself  puzzled  to  decide, 
Selden  contrived  right  cunningly  to  get  introduced  to  my 
father,  soon  after  the  old  gentleman  arrived  at  Albany, 
where  the  Green  Mountain    troops,  with  their  officers^ 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  253 

have  been  posted  the  past  season,  you  know.  They 
have  since  met  several  times,  and  by  the  fact  of  my 
being  entrusted  to  Selden's  care  in  coming  on  here,  I 
know  father  considers  him  a  man  of  honor  at  least.  But 
whether  he  has  ever  suspected  the  truth  about  us,  I 
have  been  wholly  unable  to  ascertain.  If  he  has,  and 
disapproves  it,  he  has  studied  out  some  sly,  indirect  way 
of  breaking  up  the  connection  without  recourse  to  open 
opposition,  which,  I  have  often  heard  him  say,  made  ten 
matches  where  it  broke  one." 

"But  did  not  Major  Skene,  after  his  exchange  and 
return,  or  his  sisters,  inform  Colonel  Reed  of  their  sus- 
picions, most  probably?" 

"They  would  have  done  so,  perhaps,  had  they  con- 
tinued as  jealous  at  at  first,  but  since  my  engagement 
with  Selden  we  have  both  acted  in  concert  to  blind  them, 
and  I  think  they  are  in  the  dark  themselves." 

"And  how  have  you  disposed  of  the  Major,  in  the  mean- 
while?" 

"I  laughed  him  out  of  countenance — jeered  and  joked 
him  about  his  valor  at  Skenesboro'  before  the  officers, 
ridiculed  him  in  every  way  I  could  devise,  till  at  last  the 
fellow  became  so  sore  under  the  torment,  that  he  fairly 
avoided  me,  as  if  I  had  been  a  viper,  and  that  is  the  way 
I  advise  you  to  take  with  your  eternal  hanger-on,  who, 
like  the  Major,  was  never  man  enough  to  cease  his  atten- 
tions when  he  knew  they  were  not  agreeable.  But  where 
is  Sherwood  now?" 

'We  don't  know.  He  has  been  absent  several  weeks. 
He  told  us  he  was  going  to  Albany.  You  heard  nothing 
of  him  there,  did  you?" 

"No!  but  if  he  was  there,  he  would  hardly  show  him- 
self in  public,  I  think.  Did  you  know  they  strongly  sus- 
pected him  of  being  a  Tory?" 

"I  know  not  that  he  was  suspected  by  others.  But 
from  his  standing  aloof  from  the  contest  when  our  bleed- 
ing country  required  the  aid  of  every  friend,  from  the 
character  of  his  associates,  and  among  the  rest  that  des- 
picable Darrow,  and  more  especially  from  one  or  two 
secret  journeys,  which  I  feel  satisfied  he  has  lately  made 
into  Canada,  I  have  for  some  time  known  that  he  was  any- 
thing but  an  American  patriot." 


254  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

By  this  time  our  fair  friends,  having  wandered  down  thi 
elope  towards  the  lake,  had  reached  the  shore,  and  seated 
themselves  on  a  little  grassy  elevation  near  the  landing, 
where  they  were  about  to  resume  their  conversation, 
when  a  skiff  containing  three  men,  whose  approach  from 
the  south  had  been  screened  from  their  sight  by  interven- 
ing bushes,  made  its  appearance,  and  put  in  for  the  shore. 
The  girls  instantly  arose,  and  were  hastily  retiring  when 
they  were  hailed  by  the  leader  of  the  party,  after  he  had 
risen  in  his  boat,  and  looked  intently  a  moment  at  those 
on  shore.  On  turning  round,  Alma  at  once  recognized 
him  to  be  the  tall  woodsman,  with  whom  she  first  became 
acquainted  as  the  messenger  of  Warrington. 

"  If  you'll  agree  not  to  be  scart  much  at  such  a  beauty 
as  I  be,  gals,"  said  Pete,  leaping  ashore  and  striding  up 
the  bank,  "  I  should  like  well  enough  to  have  one  of  you 
stop  running  away  long  enough  to  have  me  tell  you  what 
one  of  you  wants,  that  is  if  I  hafen't  forgot  the  face  that 
used  to  belong  to  her." 

Jones,  now  advancing  to  the  spot  from  wM^h  the  girls, 
with  hesitating  steps,  were  slowly  retreating,  pulled  out 
a  soiled  and  crumpled  letter,  and  offered  it  to  Alma. 
But  the  latter,  supposing  it  to  be  from  Warrington,  shook 
her  head,  and  declined  receiving  it. 

"Well,  now  I "  said  the  scout,  a  little  disconcerted  at 
the  unexpected  refusal :  **  by  hoky  !  if  this  ain't  the  first 
time  I  ever  knew  a  body  that  wouldn't  take  a  letter  that 
belonged  to  'em!  Well,  I've  done  all  that  the  fellow 
who  asked  me  to  bring  it  could  expect  of  me,  I  consider." 

"  From  whom  did  you  receive  the  letter,  sir  ?  "  asked 
Jessy,  who  easily  apprehended  the  reasons  of  her  friend 
for  declining  to  receive  it. 

"  Well,  now,  marm,"  replied  Jones,  scratching  his  head. 
«'  that  is  asking  a  notch  more  than  I  am  very  well  able 
to  answer.  I  partly  hinted  to  the  man  to  tell  me  his 
name,  but  he  kinder  screwed  round  in  his  talk  so  that  he 
kept  clear  of  telling  me.  Howsomever,  it  was  an  honest- 
looking  fellow  enough  that  I  fell  in  with  at  Skenesboro'. 
where  we  stopped  for  breakfast,  this  morning." 

"O,  it  is  not  from  any  in  the  army,  then,"  rejoined 
Jessy,  throwing  a  significant  look  at  her  companion,  in 
tended  to  convey  a  sly  joke  for  her  over-cautiousness. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  255 

"Any  ill  the  army  ?"  said  Jones,  repeating  the  words* 
of  the  other,  as  he  began  to  assume  his  old  comic  twist 
of  features,  " no,  unless  you  might  call  him  a  kettle- 
drummer  ;  for  now  I  think  on't  when  we  first  came  into 
the  house  where  we  found  him,  he  was  at  it  hammer  and 
tongs  upon  an  old  brass  kettle,  making  clatter  enough  to 
crazy  a  small  nation." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Jones,"  said  Alma,  courteous- 
ly, "  I  was  under  a  misapprehension  in  regard  to  the 
source  of  this  letter — I  will  receive  it  now,  sir,  if  you 
please  ;  and  thank  you  kindly  for  your  trouble  in  bring- 
ing it,"  she  added,  extending  her  hand  and  taking  the 
proffered  paper. 

"Are  you  direct  from  Albany,  sir?"  asked  Miss  Reed, 
preparatory  to  some  other  question,  apparently. 

"  We  started  from  there  about  twelve  last  night,  anc1 
in  a  bit  of  a  hurry,  too,"  replied  the  scout,  turning  and 
looking  upon  the  face  of  his  fair  interrogator,  whom 
he  now  for  the  first  time  seemed  to  recognize.  "  Why, 
now,  if  I  ain't  beat,  to  find  that  queer  fighting  bird 
again — beg  pardon,  inarm — I  didn't  mean  it  for  offence, 
for  I  don't  calculate  to  be  very  sarcy  to  folks,  except  to 
the  Britishers.  And  I  kinder  guess  you  ain't  very  stiff  for 
that  side  after  all,  or  you  wouldn't  allow  yourself  to  be 
caught  by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  so  easy  and  often." 

It  was  Jessy's  turn  to  be  disconcerted  now,  and  blush- 
ing to  the  very  temples,  she  turned  confusedly  away,  and 
pretended  to  be  looking  for  wild  strawberries  in  the  grass, 
while  Alma,  smiling  to  see  the  discomfiture  of  her  friend 
at  the  honest  but  sly  hit  involved  in  the  remarfe  of  the 
woodsman,  now  addressing  the  latter  asked  : 

"  Has  any  late  intelligence  of  the  enemy's  movements 
been  received  at  headquarters,  that  has  caused  you  to 
be  dispatched  in  this  direction  so  hastily  ?  " 

"I  rather  expect  there  has,  marm." 

"Any  threatened  invasion?  I  know  there  have  been 
fears  of  one,  from  Canada,  but  hearing  nothing  of  it 
lately,  we  had  begun  to  believe  it  a  false  rumor." 

After  looking  Alma  earnestly  in  the  face  an  instant, 
Jones  motioned  her  to  step  a  little  further  from  her  com* 
panion,  when  in  a  low  one  he  observed  to  her, 

"You  used  to  be  true  blue — I  wonder  if  you  are  now?" 


256  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  If  you  mean  a  friend  to  your  cause,  who  can  be  trusted, 
you  may  count  me  as  one." 

"  I  rather  thought  so — well,  we  fear  there  will  be  hot 
work  in  this  quarter  in  a  very  few  daj's  from  this.  A 
British  deserter,  who  was  taken  up  over  on  Winooski 
River,  and  sent  on  by  Captain  Baker,  arrived  at  head- 
quarters  yesterday,  and  gave  us  the  information  that 
General  Burgoyne  with  an  ainny  of  ten  thousand  men 
had  already  reached  St.  John's  on  his  way  through  this 
settlement  to  Albany,  if  he  can  get  there.  Colonel  War- 
rington and  his  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys  were 
to  march  this  morning  to  reinforce  St.  Clair  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  And  General  Schuyler's  whole  army,  before  this, 
are  on  the  move  for  Fort  Edward,  as  the  place  where  the 
grand  tussle  is  to  be  had,  if  the  enemy  are  not  stopped 
before.  I,  and  my  scouts  in  the  boat  there,  are  now  on 
our  way  to  reconnoitre,  and  watch  the  progress  of  the 
Reglars  as  they  come  on.  Xow,  this  last  part  of  it  you 
must  keep  dark  about  to  all  where  there  is  the  least 
chance  of  its  getting  into  the  wind.  If  I  get  along  b&ck 
as  far  as  here,  I  will  try  to  tlall,  and  let  you  and  the  folks 
in  this  quarter  know  when  the  enemy  may  be  expected, 
that  you  may  be  all  out  of  the  way  before  they  arrive. 
But  I  must  be  off ;  for  we  must  row  ten  good  miles  further 
to-night,  before  we  encamp.     Good-nighty,  marm." 

Having  given  this  exciting  piece  of  information,  im. 
parted  with  more  seriousness  and  directness  of  manner, 
than  anything  of  equal  'ength  he  had  uttered,  perhaps, 
for  years,  Jones  turned  on  his  heel,  bounded  forward 
to  the  shore,  and  leaped  into  the  boat,  which  the  next 
instant  shot  by  the  landing  and  disappeared. 

Knowing  that  the  scours  secret  would  be  as  safe  with 
her  companion  as  with  herself,  Alma  immediately  called 
her,  and  repeated  the  startling  news  she  had  just  received. 
And  the  solicitude  and  trembling  apprehensions  which 
filled  the  bosom  of  each,  as  they  thought  of  their  respec- 
tive friends  in  connection  with  the  approaching  danger, 
for  a  while  swallowed  up  every  other  feeling.  Even  the 
letter,  the  delivery  of  which  had  occasioned  the  call  of 
the  scouts,  was  forgotten,  till  the  girls  had  retraced  their 
steps  more  than  half  the  distance  to  the  house.  It  being 
then  recalled,  however,  Miss  Hendee  seated  herself  on  a 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN-  BOYS.  257 

hillock,  opened  and  began  reading  it,  with  an  air  of  list- 
less curiosity,  which  showed  how  little  she  expected  to 
be  interested  in  its  contents,  while  Jessy  knelt  before  her 
on  tbe  grass,  watching  the  varying  expressions,  from 
simple  curiosity  to  eager  interest,  and  from  that  to  deep 
emotion,  which  successively  passed  over  the  countenance 
of  the  other  as  she  proceeded  in  the  perusal.  The  lettei 
was  without  signature,  and  ran  thus: 

"  Miss  Hendee,  I  guess,  will  remember,  how,  a  year  or 
two  ago,  a  man  came  to  your  house  and  mended  the 
things ;  and  how  he  made  some  statements  about  Charles 
Warrington,  the  Colonel  that  now  is.     Now,  what  I  said 
At  that  time  has  worried  my  feelings  a  great  deal  most 
ever  since.     Though  I  then  really  thought  what  I  said 
was  justifiable,  even  it  was  not  quite  true,  as  I  was  made 
to  believe  it  to  be  for  your  good.    But  I  soon  after  found 
out  what  I  told  you  was  not  so,  for  I  didn't  know  myself, 
and  only  said  what  I  was  asked  to  say.     This  was  the 
story  of  it.     As  I  was  going  from  house  to  house,  working 
at  my  trade  there  in  your  part  of  the  settlement,  I  fell  in 
witb/a  plausible  sort  of  a  man, — I  don't  think  I  had  best 
call  him  by  name, — and  we  after  a  while  got  to  talking 
about  Warrington,  whom  1  had  seen  often  enough,  though 
I  knew  nothing  of  his  private  affairs.     Well,  he  in  a 
smooth  kind  of  way,  said  there  was  one  thing  that  hurt 
his  feelings ;  and  that  was  that  Warrington  was  doing 
the  wrong  thing  by  a  relative  of  his,  a  very  likely  girl, 
that  he  pretended  to  be  courting  for  the  sake  of  getting 
her  family  on  his  side  in  the  York  quarrel,  when  to  his 
certain  knowledge,  he  had  a  young  wife  that  he  had  de- 
serted down  country.    He  said  it  was  a  great  pity  to  have 
;he  girl  so  deceived,  and  he  would  give  two  gold  guineas 
to  any  one  who  would  break  up  the  courtship.     But  he 
said  it  would  do  no  kinder  good  for  her  relations  to  try  ; 
and  they  were  very  anxious  some  one  else  should  under- 
take to  do  it.     He  then  told  me  his  plan  was,  that  he  and 
I,  if  I  would  agree  to  do  it,  should  first  kinder  secretly 
tell  folks  this  story  about  the  deserted  wife,  so  that  it 
should  get  to  her,  and  make  her  begin  to  believe  it;  and 
then  I  should  go  there  and  pietend  to  come  from  where 
Warrington  used  to  live,  and  let  drop  somehow,  before 

17 


258  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

the  girl,  that  I  was  knowing  myself  to  that  business 
about  his  being  married.  Well,  he  kinder  drew  me  into 
his  plan,  and  I  being  poor,  consented  for  the  money  to 
do  as  I  did.  But  I  soon  mistrusted  that  this  man  had 
some  wrong  design,  which  I  found  out  to  be  the  case,  and 
I  feel  very  sorry,  and  ask  pardon  for  what  Happened; 
and  shall  feel  very  bad  if  I  done  any  mischief  by  it,  as  I 
think  Colonel  Warrington  a  very  likely  man.  I  think  \ 
shall  feel  easier  now  in  my  mind,  but  I  guess,  consider- 
ing, I  shan't  sign  my  name,  though  I  am  not  ashamed  of 
it,  or  at  least  I  never  was  in  any  other  affair  since  I  was 
born. 

"  Your  well-wisher  to  serve." 

The  first  feeling  that  pervaded  the  bosom  of  Miss 
Hendee,  on  reading  this  humble  epistle,  the  truth  and 
genuineness  of  which  she  found  it  impossible  to  doubt, 
was  that  of  unmingled  indignation  at  the  base  and  detest- 
able conduct  of  the  man  who  had  instigated  the  "deception 
that  had  been  practised  upon  her  with  such  complete 
success.  The  whole  of  that  transaction  together  with  all 
the  dark  hints  and  warnings" she  had  previously  received 
from  her  acquaintance,  now  stood  explained  before  her. 
She  found  no  difficulty  in  tracing  all  to  the  same  source, 
and  she  saw  at  once  the  motives  which  had  actuated  the 
subtle  author  of  this  piece  of  refined  villainy  in  the  course 
he  had  pursued.  Her  next  feeling  was  that  of  deep  and 
unfeigned  regret,  for  the  injustice  she  had  unintention- 
ally done  one,  whom,  but  for  this  erroneous  belief,  she 
would  have  held,  of  all  on  earth,  the  most  dear  and 
honored.  At  last  came  the  heart's  rich  gushings  of  re- 
turning love.  And  from  the  overpowering  force  of  these 
mingled  emotions,  she  sat  down  and  wept  like  a  child. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY 8.  259 


CHAPTER  VII. 

**  And  how  felt  he,  the  wretched  man 
Reclining  there — while  memory  rai- 
O'er  many  a  year  of  guilt  and  strife, 
Flew  o'er  the  dark  flood  of  his  life, 
Nor  found  one  sunny  resting  place, 
Nor  brought  him  back  one  branch  of  grace.** 

In  the  environs  of  Albany,  at  the  period  of  which  ws 
are  writing,  stood  an  ancient-looking  tenement,  originally 
designed,  as  its  general  appearance  indicated,  for  a  com- 
mon farmhouse;  though  the  grounds  around  it  seemed 
lately  to  have  been  left  almost  wholly  uncultivated; 
while  dilapidated  fences,  and  an  unchecked  growth  of 
rank  weeds  springing  up  everywhere  about  the  premises, 
told  anything  but  of  good  husbandry  in  the  occupant. 
Indeed,  there  was  an  air  of  solitude  and  decay  about  the 
place,  which  might  reasonably  have  been  taken  by  all  as 
an  evidence  c*  corresponding  decay  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  owner  but  for  the  fact,  known  to  many,  that  he  had 
brought  large  sums  of  money,  which  he  must  have  in- 
creased, as  he  had  ever  lived  on  an  economical  scale, 
and  husbanded  his  treasures  with  the  most  miserly 
care, — ever  speculating  upon  the  necessities  of  others,  anf 
ioaning  his  money  at  exorbitant  usury.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  unsettled  times  of  the  Revolution,  how- 
ever, he  had  been  busily  engaged  in  drawing  in  his  funds, 
while  he  began  to  talk  of  pretended  losses,  and  to  feign 
the  appearance  of  approaching  poverty,  by  suffering  his 
farm  to  run  to  waste,  as  if  through  inability  to  bestow 
upon  it  a  proper  cultivation.  This  was  attributed  by 
many  to  actual  impoverishment ;  but  those  who  knew 
move  of  his  affairs,  set  it  down  at  once  to  his  unwilling- 
ness to  trust  out  his  property  in  such  fluctuating  times, 
and  his  fears  of  being  compelled  to  loan  or  otherwise  part 
with  it  for  maintaining  the  American  cause,  to  which,  it 
was  suspected,  he  was  not  over  friendly.  He  had  ever 
been  a  man  of  few  friends,  and  still  fewer  confidants. 
And  for  the  last  year  or  two,  he  had  almost  wholly  with- 
drawn himself  from  society ;  while,  as  was  noticed  by 


260  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

those  who  occasionally  saw  him,  his  health  appeared  to 
be  gradually  undermining,  and  his  countenance  wore  an 
air  of  deep  dejection,  arising,  it  was  surmised,  as  he  had 
no  visible  grounds  of  sorrow,  from  remorse  of  conscience, 
or  other  mental  inquietudes,  the  cause  of  which  he  had 
never  divulged. 

To  this  cheerless  spot  we  would  now  invite  the  reader 
lor  the  purpose  of  introducing  one  to  whom  allusion  has 
been  several  times  made,  the  father  of  Jacob  Sherwood. 
The  unhappy  old  man  had  been  for  several  weeks  rapidly 
failing,  and  he  now  lay  stretched  on  the  bed  of  sickness, 
with  the  full  consciousness  that  the  end  of  his  earthly 
career  was  fast  approaching ;  while  a  retrospect  of  his 
life  began  to  fill  his  mind  with  terror  and  alarm,  in  view 
of  the  retribution  which  his  guilt-stricken  conscience  told 
him  was  at  hand.  Although,  by  the  constant  exercise  of 
that  peculiar  cunning  and  cautiousness,  which  were  lead- 
ing traits  in  his  character,  he  had  always  contrived  to 
steer  clear  of  the  penalties  of  the  law,  yet  there  had  been 
certain  secret  passages  in  hi.s  life,  the  memory  of  which 
now  turned  his  dying  bed  into  a  couch  of  thorns,  and 
drove  him  to  think  of  making  some  atonement  for  the 
injuries  he  had  inflicted  before  he  dare  go  to  his  final 
account. 

With  this,  among  other  views,  he  had,  the  week  pre- 
vious, sent  a  special  messenger  for  his  son,  and  he  was 
now  anxiously  looking  for  his  arrival.  But  the  lingering 
days  passed  on,  and  he  came  not,  till  the  wretched  in- 
valid, warned  by  his  failing  strength,  that  he  could  hold 
out  but  a  few  days  longer,  dared  no  more  delay  the  act  of 
justice,  which  his  guilty  fears  had  urged  him  to  perform, 
to  those  who  had  been  the  victims  of  secret  villainies.  But 
let  us  now  enter  his  gloomy  abode,  and  proceed  to  his  bed- 
side. He  had  been  lying  about  an  hour  in  a  troubled  sleep, 
from  which  he  had  several  times  suddenly  started  up, 
with  a  wild,  apprehensive  glare,  and  a  few  incoherent 
mutterings,  that  gradually  died  away  on  his  working 
lips,  as  he  relapsed  into  his  uneasy  slumbers.  He  now, 
however,  became  thoroughly  awakened,  and  turning  his 
face  to  the  nurse  in  attendance,  a  wrinkled  old  crone, 
who,  with  an  ignorant,  clownish-looking  boy,  made  up 
the  rest  of  the  family  at  the  present  time,  he  eagerly 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  261 

inquired  if  his  son  had  arrived.  And  being  answered  in 
the  negative,  he  sunk  back  on  his  pillow  with  a  look  of 
blended  woe  and  disappointment,  which  told  the  utter 
wretchedness  of  his  feelings. 

"  O,  when  will  he  come !  when  will  he  come ! "  at 
length  muttered  to  himself  the  hapless  old  man.  "I 
shall  die  before  lie  arrives  !  no,  no,  I  must  not  die,  I  can- 
not die,  till  I  see  him — till  he  promises.  But  if  he  should 
not  come!  Or  if  he  come  and  would  not  promise,  or  prom- 
ising, would  not  perform,  where  would  be  the  repara- 
tion ?  I  fear — I  fear  him,  with  so  much  interest  at  stake ! 
Oh!  why  have  I  delayed  this  so  long!  Why  have  I 
carried  this  dreadful  weight  till  now!  If  I  had  but 
strength  to  write  it !— perhaps  I  have — I  will  try — I  will! 
Nabby!"  he  continued,  calling  to  the  deaf  old  woman, 
"I  say,  Nabby!  bring  me  here  pen  and  paper." 

"  Eh  ?  O,  ay  !  "  replied  the  crone,  bringing  the  required 
implements. 

"Now  bolster  me  up  on  the  bed,  and  lay  that  old  ledger 
open  on  the  bedclothes  before  me.    There !  that  will  do." 

Having  been  a  ready  penman,  and  deriving  a  temporary 
strength  from  the  excitement  of  his  sudden  resolution, 
the  invalid  succeeded  in  writing  out  a  brief  statement,  or 
confession,  of  the  misdeeds  which  laid  heaviest  on  his 
troubled  conscience. 

"  There !  there ! "  he  exclaimed  in  a  sort  of  unnatural 
glee,  "  it  is  on  paper !  it  is  down — thank  God,  it  is  down ! 
I  feel  easier  now — relieved — some  of  the  poison  has 
passed  from  my  heart  to  the  paper;"  and  he  read  over, 
and  continued  looking  some  time  upon  the  lines  with  a 
wild,  exulting  satisfaction,  muttering  at  intervals,  "Yes. 
thank  God,  it  is  down  !  " 

He  then,  having  again  called  the  nurse,  and  directed 
her  to  seal  the  paper  securely,  superscribed  it  to  Captain 
James  Hendee,  giving  the  woman  strict  orders  to  give  it 
to  his  son  when  he  arrived,  or  to  some  other  person,  who 
would  promise  to  deliver  it  to  the  person  to  whom  it  was 
addressed.  After  this,  he  fell  back  exhausted,  and  lay 
some  time  in  silent  meditation. 

"  Yes,  that  is  something,"  he  said,  at  length,  resum- 
ing his  soliloquy :  "  but  will  it  bring  back  the  lost,  ov 
dead?    No!    Will  it  restore  the  property  I  took  from 


262  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

them?  No,  not  a  shilling  without  a  suit,  and  then  Jake 
will  find  some  way  to  defeat  it — and  then  the  letter  may 
be  lost — he  may  mistrust  what  I  have  written  and  de- 
stroy it.  It  won't  do — I  must  make  a  will  and  place  it 
out  of  his  hands— I  must,  O,  I  must— and  I  will  do  it— I 
will  do  it,  now.  Ezra!  Ezra!"  he  continued,  speaking 
with  nervous  rapidity,  "  Nabby !  tell  Ezra  to  come  here 
in  a  minute! " 

The  ill-clothed,  and  more  ill-favored  boy  soon  made  his 
appearance. 

"  Ezra,  you  go  over  to  Esquire  Vanderpool's,  and  tell 
him  I  want  he  should  come  here  as  quick  as  possible- 
run  !  run  !  " 

The  man,  who  was  thus  summoned,  and  who  was  an 
attorney,  whom  the  old  gentleman  had  sometimes  em- 
ployed, and  consulted,  on  account  of  the  prudence  and 
secrecy  with  which  he  conducted  all  matters  submitted 
to  his  charge,  in  a  short  time  entered  the  apartment,  and 
quietly  seated  himself  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick  man. 
The  old  nurse  was  then  ordered  to  leave  the  room. 

"  I  am  going  to  die,  Squire,"  said  the  old  man  feebly. 

"  I  hope  not,''  replied  the  attorney,  casting  a  scrutiniz- 
ing glance  at  the  pallid  face  of  the  other,  but  without 
betraying  the  least  emotion. 

"  I  know  best,  and  I  have  thoughts  of  making  a  will- 
can  you  draw  one  that  will  hold?" 

"  None  of  my  making  have  ever  yet  failed." 

"  So  I  suppose,  and  I  believe  you  honest,  and  to  have  a 
mind  of  your  own,  or  I  should  not  have  sent  for  you. 
But  can  it  all  be  kept  secret  till  the  will  is  proved  in 

30Ult?" 

«  Who  is  to  be  executor  ?" 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  that.  So  much  money  is  a 
great  trust,  but  if  you  are  not  honest,  who  is  ?  I  must 
have  you." 

"  All  can  be  managed,  then." 

"Yes,  but  will  it  be  done?  will  you  promise?  I  have 
reasons— you  know  Jacob— will  you  not  let  him  buy  you 
up?" 

"Never!" 

"Write  me  a  will  then;  and  be  quick— quick— be 
flueathing  a  thousand  pounds  to  Captain  James  Hendae 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  263 

ot  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  all  he  now  owes  me 
. — another  thousand  to  his  daughter.  That  will  moke 
them  good  for  what  I " 

"That  is  right!  make  a  clean  breast  of  it,  Mr.  Slier- 
wood,"  observed  the  attorney,  encouragingly. 

*'  I  will — God  forgive  nie  for  taking  that  amount  from 
eke  property  left  with  me  to  manage.  Put  it  down  in 
the  will  'reparation.'" 

"  I  will.     But  the  rest  of  the  property  ?" 

«*  All  to  my  son — write  on — be  quick." 

The  attorney,  with  an  acquiescing  nod,  proceeded  dili- 
gently with  his  task,  while  the  restless  invalid  again 
muttered  to  himself: 

"It  will  be  an  inducement  for  Jake  to  marry  the  girl, 
which  I  fear  he  means  to  avoid.  But  he  probably  will 
do  it  now,  and  then  nothing  will  be  lost  by  this  ;  and  if 
he  don't,  why,  he  has  enough  without  it.  Yes,  this  will 
do.     I  shall  feel  better — better." 

The  will  was  very  soon  completed,  witnesses  were 
called,  all  the  requisite  formalities  passed  through  ;  when, 
after  receiving  from  the  testator  many  additional  injunc- 
tions, the  attorney  departed  with  the  important  instru- 
ment in  his  pocket. 

As  soon  as  this  business,  for  which  the  sick  man  had 
summoned  all  his  failing  energies,  was  accomplished,  he 
again  became  as  helpless  as  an  infant,  and  lay  several 
hours  in  a  state  of  exhaustion  and  stupor.  At  length  his 
malady  began  to  assume  a  different  and  more  threatening 
aspect.  The  pains  of  approaching  dissolution  set  in, 
attended  with  mental  anguish,  even  more  fearful  in 
appearance  than  his  bodily  agony  ;  and  to  the  wretched 
old  man  a  night  of  horrors  succeeded.  While  his  limbs 
were  writhing  with  pain,  and  he  seemed  to  be  grappling 
in  bodily  effort  with  the  king  of  terrors,  the  most  fearful 
images  appeared  to  rise  continually  before  his  distracted 
mind,  to  complete  the  horrors  of  his  situation.  At  one 
time  lie  seemed  to  be  contending  with  desperate  fierce- 
ness against  troops  of  fiends,  that  stood  palpably  before 
him,  reaching  out  their  long,  skinless  claws  to  drag  him 
from  his  bed,  while  "keep  them  off!  O,  keep  them  off," 
would  burst  in  the  accents  of  despair  from  his  lips.  At 
mother  time,  the  images  of  those  he  had  injured  ap- 


264  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

peared  to  rise  upon  his  troubled  fancy,  and  stand  before 
him,  giving,  even  by  their  quiet  presence,  unspeakable 
tortures  to  his  feelings. 

"  Leave  me,  Brother  Hendee,  0,  leave  me  !  "  he  would 
piteously  exclaim,  waving  his  hand  for  the  other,  whom 
he  fancied  to  be  standing  by  his  bedside,  to  depart. 
"Away!  away!  I  cannot  look  on  you.  You  forgive  me? 
what  is  that  to  me,  so  long  as  that  great  burning  eye  is 
looking  down  so  fiercely  upon  me  ?  O  !  don't  smile  upon 
me  !  don't,  Brother  Hendee !  It  stings — it  kills  me ! 
There  !  that  is  right — kind.  He  is  gone  now.  But  what 
is  that  coming?  O!  what  is  that?"  he  continued,  start- 
ing up  with  a  look  replete  with  horror  and  distress : 
"see,  how  he  reaches  out  his  little  hands  as  they  carry 
him  off  into  the  woods,  crying,  'Uncle,  save  me,  uncle, 
from  the  Indians ! '  It  is  a  lie !  I  say  I  am  not  your 
uncle  !  You  are  an  imp ! — a  fiend,  come  to  torment  me ! 
There!  I  told  you  so — I  knew  it — see!  see  there!  he  is 
sending  that  troop  of  devils  to  drag  me  down  into  that 
dreadful  black  gulf !  O !  God !  they  have  seized  me  !  I 
won't,  I  won't  go!  help!  murder!  O!  help!  help!  "and 
with  the  expiring  efforts  of  his  delirious  energies,  he  rose 
up  in  his  bed,  and  throwing  his  arms  wildly  above  him, 
and  uttering  a  fearful  screech,  he  fell  down  on  his  face, 
and  the  next  moment  was  a  livid  corpse! 

Such  was  the  fearful  end  of  John  Sherwood,  who,  with 
no  penitence  that  could  be  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
Heaven,  thus  thought  to  compound  with  his  conscience, 
and  atone  for  his  misdeeds  by  offering  up  a  portion  of 
that  wealth  which  he  had  made  the  only  idol  of  his  wor- 
ship through  life — a  life  marked,  indeed,  with  many  acts 
of  specious  kindness,  performed  towards  those  he  had 
wronged,  but  always  performed  on  the  principle  we  have 
mentioned,  or  to  veil  the  secret  injuries  he  had  inflicted, 
from  the  eyes  of  his  victims,  and  blind  the  public  to  his 
true  character. 

On  the  second  day  after  the  event  just  described,  and 
but  a  few  hours  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  funeral 
ceremonies,  Jacob  Sherwood  rode  into  the  yard,  and  with, 
out  any  previous  intimation  of  his  father's  death,  entered 
the  house. 

"How  is  the  old  gentleman,  Nabby?"  he  asked,  ar> 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  265 

preaching  and  putting  his  mouth  dose  to  the  ear  of  the 
deaf  old  domestic. 

"  Eh  ?  O, — why,  don't  ye  know  ?  Han't  they  told  you 
how  he  is  dead  ?  " 

"  No  !   shocking ! — Why,  when  did  he  die  ?  " 

"  Yester  night — jest  'fore  day.  Desput  sick,  the  old 
gentleman  was  that  night.  And  he  was  in  a  terrible 
taking  to  see  you,  Mister  Jacob,  'fore  he  died." 

"  What  did  he  wish  to  see  me  for  in  particular,  do  you 
know?" 

"  No — not  sartainly.  But  he  was  under  some  consarn 
of  mind,  I  reckon.  It  was  malagantly  to  hear  him  take 
on,  and  see  him  act.  O,  'twas  dreadful  times  with  us 
that  night :  I,  and  Ezra  sot  up.  I  hope  the  old  gentle- 
man never  did  anything  that  was  wrong." 

"Ezra,  what  did  he  say?"  asked  Sherwood,  eagerly 
turning  to  the  boy,  who  was  present. 

"O,  he  talked  drefful  bad  and  scary  bout  somflng 
carrying  him  off.  I'se  mortal  feared,  and  went  behind 
the  door." 

"  Xabby — say,  Nabby ! "  said  the  former,  again  address- 
ing  the  old  woman,  "  who  has  been  here  since  father  was 
taken  sick  besides  the  doctor?" 

"Doctor!  he  wouldn't  have  no  doctor — he  took  his 
own  physics." 

"  Who,  then,  has  been  here  ?  " 

"  Why,  none  but  old  Mrs.  Chandler,  to  tell  me  about 
fixing  his  gruel  and  things,  except  the  folks  that  came 
to  lay  him  out,  and  Squire  Vanderpool,  the  day  'fore  he 
died,  and  then  the  next  morning,  to  carry  off  the  papers 
and  chests." 

"Vanderpool!  papers  and  chests!  what  can  all  that 
mean?"  said  Sherwood,  in  an  undertone,  and  with 
an  air  of  concern.  "But  say,  old  woman,  what  did 
Squire  Vanderpool  and  father  do  when  they  were  to- 
gether ?  " 

"  Don't  know  nothing  no  way  about  it ;  'cause  they 
sent  me  out — may  be  about  some  writing.  La !  now,  I 
forgot  the  letter,"  added  the  woman,  jumping  up  and 
bringing  the  letter  the  deceased  had  entrusted  to  her 
charge :  "  there,  he  told  me  to  make  you  promise  to  give 
this  to  Captain  Hendee." 


260  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Certainly — I  promise,"  said  Sherwood,  seizing  the 
letter  and  putting  it  in  his  pocket. 

After  a  few  more  inquiries,  Sherwood  retired  to  another 
room  when,  taking  out  the  letter  and  carefully  breaking 
it  open,  so  that  it  might  be  re-sealed,  if  he  saw  fit  to  suffer 
ft  to  go  to  its  destination,  he  proceeded  to  read  it ;  after 
Arhich  he  rose,  took  out  a  pocket  pistol,  drew  the  charge, 
went  to  the  fireplace,  and  flashed  the  priming  against 
the  letter,  which  he  held  between  his  thumb  and  finger 
till  it  was  entirely  consumed. 

"  Well,"  said  he  to  himself,  as  he  replaced  his  pistol, 
"  that  piece  of  evidence  is  at  rest,  I  think,  and  if  all  other 
matters  can  be  managed  as  easily,  all  will  be  well.  But 
it  is  very  evident  that  the  old  man  has  been  making  a 
will :  and  Vanderpool,  who  must  be  executor,  1  imagine, 
by  his  presuming  to  carry  off  the  papers  and  money,  is 
a  hard  customer  to  manage,  I  confess  ;  though  it  must  be 
done  by  some  means  or  other, — that  is  if  the  old  man's 
weakness  and  silly  fears  have  led  him  to  make  any  serious 
inroad  on  my  prospects.  And  who  knows  how  far  he 
may  have  gone — devil !  if  he  has  been  willing  away  my 
property!  But  that  he  could  not  do..  He  could  only 
dispose  of  his  own,  the  lesser  half  I  think  it  must  be. 
Well,  that  is  mine,  too ;  and  I  won't  go  it.  So,  if  he  has 
been  willing  it  away,  curse  me,  if  I  don't  find  a  way  to 
suppress  or  break  the  will.  Let's  see, — Vanderpool  is 
rather  poor.  That  is  lucky ;  for  a  cool  hundred  is  some- 
thing of  a  tempter.  But  if  that  fails  then  here  are  the 
deaf  old  haddock  of  a  woman  and  the  doltish  boy,  ready 
with  their  humbug  stories  to  swear  the  old  man  insane 
at  the  time.  Good !  I'll  make  it  traverse  somehow. 
But  the  first  thing  is  to  see  Vanderpool ;  and  I  may  as 
well  do  it  now.  No,  I  forgot, — the  time  of  the  funeral 
is  at  hand,  and  I  must  be  rigging  up,  and  putting  on  a 
sorrowful  face — sorrowful!  as  if  it  was  a  matter  of 
special  grief  to  come  into  possession  of  a  clear  ten  thou- 
sand! " 

Thus  soliloquizing,  and  settling  his  plans  for  repairing 
the  rent  which  he  feared  his  father  had  made  in  his  for- 
tunes, the  heartless  heir  dressed  himself,  and  joined  the 
domestics  and  others,  who  had  now  come  in  to  assist  in 
making   arrangements  for    the  approaching  obsequies. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS.  267 

These  being  raade,  and  the  hour  appointed  for  the  funeral 
now  arriving,  the  ceremonies  were  performed  by  a  small 
train  of  the  nearest  neighbors,  including  his  executor, 
and  one  or  two  other  individuals  from  the  city,  who  had 
sustained  some  connection  with  the  deceased  in  business 
transactions.  Though  the  demeanor  of  all  present  was 
marked  with  the  decency  and  sobriety  natural  on  the 
occasion,  yet  none  of  that  emotion,  which  the  ties  of 
heartfelt  friendship,  severed  by  death,  usually  produces 
at  such  times,  was  visible  among  the  company.  Not  a 
sigh  was  heard,  not  a  tear  was  seen  to  bedew  a  singh  • 
cheek,  as  they  followed  the  old  man,  who  had  never 
exhibited  any  feelings  in  common  with  them,  unwept 
and  unhonored,  to  his  long  home. 

That  evening,  and  as  early  as  he  thought  decency 
would  permit  after  his  father's  remains  were  consigned 
to  the  earth,  Sherwood  repaired  to  Vanderpool's  office. 
And,  after  what  he  deemed  would  be  considered  some 
suitable  observations  upon  his  recent  bereavement,  he 
carelessly  remarked: 

"  My  father  made  a  will  in  his  last  sickness,  I  under- 
stand." 

to 

tiously  approaching  the  point  at  which  he  was  aiming. 

"Drafting  instruments  of  that,  kind  is  part  of  my  trade, 
you  are  aware,"  remarked  Vanderpool,  still  evading  any 
direct  answer  to  the  question  implied  by  the  other's  obser- 
vation. 

"You  will  not  deem  it  improper,  I  presume,"  said  Sher- 
wood, "  for  me  to  inquire  what  are  the  provisions  of  the 
instrument,  since  I  am  the  person  most  interested?" 

"  Why,  sir,''  coolly  remarked  Vanderpool,  "  whether  you 
are  the  most  interested,  I  should  think  must  depend  en- 
tirely upon  the  will,  whose  provisions  you  seek  to  know. 
And  as  regards  the  propriety  of  your  making  inquiries 
respecting  those  provisions,  I  am  not  aware  of  any  im- 
propriety in  your  asking,  but  whether,  in  the  case  you 
assume,  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  answer  for  the  pres- 
ent, would  depend  solely  on  the  conditions  imposed  on 
me,  and  the  instructions  I  have  received." 


268  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  O,  certainly,  certainly,  Mr.  Van der pool,"  rejoined  the 
other  obsequiously,  though  he  was  evidently  not  a  little 
startled  at  the  ominous  import  of  some  of  the  attorney's 
remarks ;  "  but  what  possible  motive  could  my  father 
have  for  enjoining  secrecy  in  such  a  case?" 

"Why,  that,  Mr.  Sherwood,  is  undoubtedly  a  question 
that  the  interrogator  is  no  less  competent  of  answering 
than  the  interrogatee,"  replied  the  imperturbable  attorney. 

"  Why,  surely,  Mr.  Vanderpool,"  said  the  baffled  heir 
in  a  tone  of  expostulation,  "  you  do  not  think  I  wish  you 
to  do  anything  wrong,  I  trust.  But  if  the  will  be  a  just 
one,  there  can  be  no  good  reason  for  keeping  its  provis- 
ions a  secret  the  short  time  that  intervenes  before  it  must 
be  openly  proved ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  if  it  be  an  un- 
just one,  a  delay  can  be  of  no  benefit  to  the  legatees  of  a 
will  which  can  be  so  easily  broken." 

♦'Broken!  how?" 

"  Why,  I  suppose  you  must  be  aware,  sir,  that  my  father 
was  not  in  his  right  mind  when  he  executed  this  pretended 
will,  as  can  be  proved  by  the  family." 

Being  a  little  nettled  at  the  imputation  involved  in  the 
last  remark,  that  he  had  assisted  in  the  making  of  a  will 
when  he  knew  the  testator  to  be  incompetent,  the  con- 
scientious attorney  with  considerable  spirit  replied: 

"Whose  testimony,  think  you,  sir,  would  weigh  the 
most  in  such  case,  two  good,  honest, intelligent  witnesses 
(to  say  nothing  of  myself),  who  were  present  and  heard 
the  testator  converse,  or  a  stupid  old  woman,  so  deaf  as 
not  to  hear  one  word  in  ten  of  an  ordinary  conversation, 
and  a  more  stupid  boy,  who  was  rarely  in  his  presence?" 

"  O,  I  am  no  lawyer,  sir,"  rejoined  Sherwood,  with  af- 
fected complaisance:  "that  must  be  left  to  gentlemen  of 
your  profession  to  decide.  I  merely  repeated  what  was 
told  me.  And  the  only  motive  I  have  in  making  these 
inquiries  is,  to  obtain  such  knowledge  of  the  will  as  shall 
enable  me  to  make  my  arrangements  for  the  future ;  since 
I  am  compelled  to  return  immediately  to  my  post  in  the 
Grants.  And  now,"  he  continued,  cautiously  veering 
round  on  another  tack,  "  I  really  don't  see  how  I  can  go 
without  knowing  something  about  the  disposition  of  this 
property.  It  is  a  going  to  be  such  a  disadvantage  to  me! 
Why,  I  would  not  begrudge  a  hundred  pounds.     Indeedt 


TBh  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  2G9 

in  my  peculiar  situation  at  this  time,  it  might  make  more 

than  that  difference  in  my  circumstances n 

"  Ah  1  indeed  ?  "  observed  Vanderpool,  beginning  to  sus- 
pect the  drift  of  the  other,  but  wishing  to  see  how  far  he 
would  venture  to  go,  if  encouraged  a  little. 

"Yes,  that  is  really  the  case,  Squire,"  said  Sherwood, 
thinking  he  had  now  hit  upon  a  right  course ;  "and  ii 
there  are  some  nice  rules  among  your  profession  to  pre- 
vent  your  showing  this  will  yourself  in  obedience  to  such 
very  singular  instructions,  why,  that  can  be  easily  got 
along  w'  h.  1  he  will  can  be  left,  for  instance,  on  yonder 
shelf,  or,  ">mewhere,  so  that  should  I  come  in  to-morrow 
to  write  a  *etter,  or  the  like,  it  might  be  glanced  at,  and 
Mill  no  blame  could  fall  on  you — even  if  the  instrument 
should  be  afterwards  missing.  All  would  come  right  be- 
tween you  and  I,  Squire,  depend  upon  it.  Now  I  should 
suppose,  that  one  live  client,  with  my  means,  and  with  mv 
friendship,  would  be  worth  ■:.  dozen  dead  ones,  shouldn't 
you,  Squire  ?  " 

"  Why,  that  might  depend,"  gravely  replied  the  attor- 
ney, willing  to  alarm  the  other  by  way  of  punishing  him 
for  his  insulting  proposals,  "that  would  depend,  I  should 
think,  somewhat  on  the  question  whether  the  live  client 
had  means  enough  left  him  by  the  dead  one  to  make  good 
his  promises." 

"What  mean  you,  sir?'-  hastily  asked  Sherwood,  turn, 
ing  pale  at  the  intimation. 

"  O,  I  am  merely  making  suppositions  by  way  of  answer- 
ing your  inquiries — you  must  put  your  own  constructions 
upon  them,"  replied  Vanderpool,  with  a  look  so  equivocal 
as  still  to  leave  the  would-be  tempter  in  doubt  how  to 
proceed. 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Sherwood,  after  a  hesitating  pause, 
"  what  am  I  to  understand  you  are  willing  to  do  in  this 
business  ?  Really  a  hard  case  for  me,  Squire — what  do 
you  say  upon  the  whole ? " 

"Upon  the  whole,  then,"  replied  the  indignant  attorney, 
looking  the  other  sternly  in  the  face,  "I  say,  sir,  that  it 
does  not  follow  that  I  s?m  a  villain  and  unworthy  the  trust 
reposed  in  me,  because  ethers  may  think  they  can  make 
me  so.  I  am  sole  executor  of  your  father's  estate ; — the 
veal  estate-  which  is  but  a  small  portion  of  the  property, 


270  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

you  can  take  possession  of  as  soon  as  you  please,  as  to 
the  rest,  I  shall  take  and  keep  charge  of  it  for  the  present. 
I  know  my  duty,  both  towards  you,  and  others  concerned, 
and  you  may  depend  I  shall  do  it,  My  supper  waits. 
Good-evening,  sir." 

So  saying,  and  taking  his  hat,  the  independent  and 
incorruptible  attorney  turned  his  back  on  the  other,  and 
immediately  left  the  office. 

Vexed  and  discomfited  at  the  failure  of  his  attempt, 
and  alarmed  at  the  startling  intimations  which  had  fallen 
from  Vanderpool,  Sherwood  turned  his  steps  homeward. 
Reasoning  from  his  own  principles  and  feelings,  he  sup- 
posed that  the  attorney  would  never  have  withstood  the 
different  temptations  which  had  thus  been  placed  before 
him,  unless  he  knew  that  the  property  was  about  to  pass 
into  the  hands  of  others,  whom  it  was  now  more  his 
interest  to  serve.  And  joining  his  argument,  unanswer- 
able to  one  who  could  scarcely  conceive  of  actions  not 
prompted  by  interested  and  selfish  motives,  with  the  con- 
temptuous bearing  of  the  attorney,  and  the  intimations 
he  had  dropped,  the  partially  deceived,  though  justly 
punished  heir  arrived  at  the  maddening  conclusion,  that 
his  father  must  have  bequeathed  the  greatest  portion 
of  his  property  to  others;  and  in  all  probability  to  the 
Ilendee  family,  to  whom,  besides  being  his  only  near 
relatives  now  left,  his  penitent  and  remorseful  feelings 
would  naturally  direct  his  mind.  And  in  addition  to 
this,  he  was  not  without  strong  apprehensions,  that  his 
father  had  imparted  to  Vanderpool  the  secret  which  was 
contained  in  the  letter  directed  to  Captain  Hendee,  and 
which,  in  case  the  son  of  the  latter  was  alive,  would 
greatly  multiply  the  chances  of  losing  the  other  part  of 
the  property,  also.  And  no  sooner  had  he  become  corn, 
firmed  in  these  conclusions,  than  he  made  up  his  mind  in 
regard  to  the  only  alternative  which  he  believed  was  now 
left  him  for  securing  the  property.  Accordingly,  after 
making  a  few  brief  arrangements  with  a  neighbor  for 
managing  the  farm,  he  started  that  very  night,  and  pro- 
ceeded with  all  possible  expedition  to  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  where  we  will  endeavor  to  meet  him  in  another 
chapter. 


THE  QUEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  271 


chapter  vrn. 

"  Oh!  what  a  tangled  web  we  weave 
When  first  we  practise  to  deceive." 

After  a  rapid  journey  by  land,  Sherwood  arrived  at  hi? 
.louse  in  the  Grants,  inanspicionsly  for  his  present  object, 
on  the  very  evening  on  which  his  base  and  execrab's 
manoeuvres  to  cause  the  dismissal  of  Warrington  had 
been  discovered  by  Miss  Hendee,  in  the  manner  we  have 
described.  And  deeply  intent  on  carrying  into  execution. 
his  project  of  a  union  with  her,  whom  he  supposed  to  ba 
still  the  dupe  of  his  machinations,  believing  this  now  to 
be  his  only  resource  for  securing  the  property,  and  being 
determined  to  accomplish  it,  if  possible,  before  the  pro- 
visions of  his  father's  will  should  be  made  known,  to 
lessen  his  chances  of  success,  he,  early  the  next  morning, 
repaired  to  her  residence,  for  the  purpose  of  urging  an 
immediate  fulfilment  of  the  engagement,  which  he  now 
chose  to  claim  as  having  for  several  years  existed  between 
them.  And  from  the  well-known  wishes  of  the  father 
on  whom  he  counted  for  a  strong  ally,  and  the  late  acqni- 
escent  manner  of  the  daughter,  he  had  the  fullest  con- 
fidence that  he  should  be  able  to  bring  about  his  object 
with  very  little  difficulty  or  delay.  When  he  arrived, 
however,  he  soon  saw  indications  which  considerably  low- 
ered the  tone  of  his  assurance.  In  the  first  place,  he  was 
not  at  all  pleased  to  find,  as  he  unexpectedly  did,  that  Miss 
Reed  had  taken  up  her  residence  :"n  the  family,  believing 
that  she,  from  the  connection  which  he  suspected  she  sus 
tained  with  Selden,  the  friend  of  Warrington,  would  natu- 
rally exercise  her  influence  against  one  of  whom  she  had. 
doubtless  received  unfavorable  impressions.  And  in  addi- 
tion to  this  his  quick  eye  detected  a  change  in  the  manner 
of  Alma  herself  towards  him,  which  he  fancied  had  refer- 
ence to  the  subject  of  his  present  anxiety.  And  even  in  the 
demeanor  of  the  father,  he  thought  he  perceived  a  want 
of  cordiality,  which  never  before  marked  his  receptions, 
But  notwithstanding  all  these  discouraging  appearances, 
Jbe  determined  on  persevering  in  his  original  purpose. 


272  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

And,  carefully  abstaining  from  all  mention  of  his  father's 
death,  he  early  sought  a  private  interview  with  Miss 
Hendee,  who,  with  a  sort  of  business-like  promptitude, 
and  with  the  air  of  one  who  is  fully  prepared  for  an 
eclaircissement,  immediately  assented  to  his  proposal. 

"Mr.  Sherwood  has  something  particular  to  offer,  ] 
conclude?"  inquiringly  said  Alma,  with  a  most  freez- 
ing dignity  of  manner,  as  soon  as  they  were  seated  in  a 
room  by  themselves. 

"Why,  you  know,  Alma,  my  attentions  to  you  have 
ever  been  particular,"  replied  Sherwood,  with  what  he 
intended  for  an  endearing  smile. 

"  Enough  so,  certainly,"  was  the  equivocal  response. 

"  Well,  I  am  happy,"  rejoined  the  other,  purposely  con- 
struing the  remark  in  his  own  favor,  "  that  you  acquit 
me  of  any  neglect  in  my  attentions  to  one  who  is  so  worthy 
of  them,  and  one  in  whom  I  have  ever  felt  so  deep  an 
interest." 

"  You  have  manifested  but  little  lack  of  interest  in  me. 
or  my  concerns,  I  am  free  to  acknowledge,  sir,"  remarked 
Alma,  in  the  same  equivocal  manner. 

"  I  hope  I  am  not  doubted  in  this  respect,"  said  Sher- 
wood, with  the  air  of  an  arraigned  sch'oolboy,  attempt- 
ing to  put  an  immaterial  issue,  in  order  to  escape,  or 
delay  a  blow,  which  he  sees  the  disposer  of  his  fate  is 
preparing  to  give  him. 

"  O,  not  in  the  least,  sir,"  replied  Alma,  in  a  tone  and 
manner  still  more  ironical  and  significant  than  before ; 
"  for  I  have  lately  received  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  in- 
terest you  have  taken  in  my  affairs,  in  the  confessions  of 
a  certain  tinker,  whom  you  may  recollect  having  con- 
suited  on  the  subject,  on  a  former  occasion  ?  " 

"  Why — now — really! '''  stammered  Sherwood,  utterly 
disconcerted  at  this  cutting  allusion  to  a  transaction 
which  he  supposed  was  known  only  to  himself  and  the 
immediate  actor  in  the  affair:  "really,  Miss  Hendee,  I 
have  not  the  happiness  of  understanding  your  meaning." 

*'  Would  further  disclosures  be  likely  to  increase  your 
happiness  in  that  respect,  sir?"  asked  Alma,  coolly. 

"  I  did  not  seek  this  interview,  Miss  Hendee,"  rejoined 
the  other,  now  recovering  his  assurance,  "  to  listen  to 
arecital  of  all  the  slanders  that  may  have  happened  to 


TEE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  273 

reach  your  ears  ;  but  I  sought  it  on  more  important  busi- 
ness." 

"I  will  not  hear  your  propositions,  sir,"  said  she,  with- 
out deigning  any  further  reply. 

"Why,  surely,  Alma,"  observed  Sherwood,  in  an  ex- 
postulating tone,  "  I  know  not  how  I  have  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  offend  you,  as  from  your  manner,  I  fear  I  have. 
I  had  fondly  anticipated  a  different  reception.  I  had  at 
lust  arranged  my  business,  so  that  I  felt  myself,  for  the 
first  time  since  our  intimacy,  at  liberty  to  settle  down  in 
life ;  and,  accordingly,  I  came  to  propose  a  consumma- 
tion of  the  engagement,  which  has  been  so  long  settled 
between  us." 

"I  wonder,  sir,"  said  Alma,  "you  had  not  first  mad6 
known  your  intentions  to  my  father,  with  whom  the  en. 
gagemeut  you  claim  to  exist,  was  made,  I  believe.  Per- 
haps you  might  meet  with  better  success  in  that  quarter.'* 

"  You  seem  disposed  to  trifle  with  my  feelings,  Miss 
Ilendee,"  rejoined  Sherwood,  growing  restless.  "I  wish 
for  a  direct  answer,  whether  you  will,  or  will  not,  fulfil 
your  engagement  with  me." 

"A  direct  answer,  sir,  then,  you  shall  have;  and  I  will 
add,  1  feel  not  a  little  grateful  for  being,  for  the  first 
time  since  my  acquaintance  with  you,  allowed  the  oppor- 
tunity of  giving  one.  Mr.  Sherwood,  I  shall  never  volun- 
tarily unite  my  destinies  with  yours." 

«'  Surely  you  would  not  a  break  a  solemn  engagement  ?  " 

"A  passive  acquiescence — a  tacit  consent,  wrung  from 
me  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  is,  as  you  well  know, 
sir,  all  the  engagement  that  you  can  claim  of  me.  And 
even  that,  your  conscience  must  tell  you,  you  have  long 
since  forfeited  by  your  own  conduct." 

"Are  you  prepared,  Miss,  for  the  consequences  which 
may  follow  the  step  you  seem  determined  on  taking?" 

"You  do  well,  sir,  I  acknowledge,  to  remind  me  of 
that  consideration,"  bitterly  retorted  the  indignant 
maiden ;  "  for  I  am  aware  that  it  is  no  light  matter  to 
brave  the  revenge  of  one  who  could  instigate  the  assas- 
sination of  a  supposed  rival." 

Sherwood  started  as  if  stung  by  an  adder,  at  the  damn- 
ing  truth  of  the  allusion.  His  face  became  fairly  livid 
with  suppressed  rage  and  chagrin,  and  biting  his  blood- 
iS 


274  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

less  lips,  he  rose  and  slunk  out  of  the  apartment,  as 
would  a  demon  from  the  presence  of  some  pure  being 
from  the  skies,  without  uttering  one  word  in  his  own 
defence,  or  even  lifting  his  eyes  to  the  withering  counte- 
nance, which  was  bent  upon  him,  with  a  look  of  mingled 
pity,  abhorrence,  and  contempt.  Leaving  the  house,  the 
discomfited  villain  immediately  sought  Captain  Hendee 
in  an  adjoining  field,  for  the  purpose  of  instigating  the 
old  gentleman  to  measures  of  compulsion  upon  the  re- 
fractory daughter,  in  furtherance  of  his  designs.  But 
here,  also,  he  was  unexpectedly  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment and  defeat.  Upon  Alma's  return  to  the  house,  after 
the  receipt  of  the  communication  exposing  the  baseness 
of  Sherwood,  she  had  sought  an  interview  with  her 
father,  read  him  the  letter,  frankly  confessed  her  own 
feelings,  and  disclosed  all  she  knew,  not  only  of  the 
course  and  conduct  of  Sherwood,  but  also  that  of  War- 
rington, for  a  part  <>f  which  she  was  indebted  to  her  fair 
companion,  who  in  turn  received  it  from  her  lover,  Selden, 
the  intimate  of  Warrington.  And  among  the  rest,  she 
had  made  known  to  the  astonished  father  the  magnani- 
mous conduct  of  the  latter  in  regard  to, his  ownership  of 
the  land  on  which  they  resided,  the  circumstances  of 
which  she  herself  had  never  been  apprised  of  till  that 
very  evening.  And  although  the  old  gentleman  had 
listened  to  her  disclosures  without  uttering  a  single  word 
in  reply,  from  which  she  could  learn  his  opinions  on  the 
subject,  her  communications,  nevertheless,  had  produced 
a  deep  impression  on  his  mind  and  feelings,  that  were 
now  fluctuating  back  and  forth,  like  contending  currents 
of  wind,  when  but  a  slight  impulse  is  required  to  turn 
them  back  in  fury  in  a  direction  exactly  the  reverse  from 
that  in  which  they  commenced  blowing. 

"  I  little  expected,  Captain  Hendee,"  said  Sherwood, 
with  the  air  of  an  injured  man,  as  he  approached  the 
other,  "I  little  expected,  sir,  when  I  arrived  here  to  have 
met  with  the  reception  which  I  have  just  received  from 
your  daughter." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  sir, — what's  the  matter?" 
replied  the  Captain,  with  an  air  of  indifference. 

"  The  matter,  sir  ?  why,  your  daughter  refuses  to  ful- 
fil her  engagement  to  me,  sir." 


TUE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  i>75 

"Ah  !  what  reasons  did  she  give  for  that,  sir?" 

"No  good  reasons,  sir.  She  has  been  listening  to  the 
tales  of  slanderers — some  enemy  has  been  prejudicing 
her  mind  against  me,  by  falsehoods — utter  falsehoods, 
sir!" 

"  Or  has  she  not  heard  rather  more  truth  about  your 
manoeuvres  than  you  intended  should  have  reached  her 
ears?    Come,  now,  be  honest,  Jake,  and  tell  me." 

"Are  you,  too,  in  the  league  against  me? — am  I  to 
understand  that  you,  too,  justify  her  in  this  course,  sir?" 
hastily  demanded  Sherwood,  nettled  at  the  cool,  indifferent 
manner  of  the  other,  as  much  as  at  the  blunt  severity 
involved  in  his  question.  "  I  had  little  expected  this 
from  you,  sir !  I  should  have  supposed  the  interest  of 
your  family  would  prompt  you  to  a  different  course." 

"Hinging  on  my  obligations,  are  you,  sir?"  said  the 
Captain,  turning  fiercely  on  the  other,  with  eyes  flashing 
indignation.  "Look  ye,  Jake  Sherwood,  I  have,  from 
the  very  first,  used  all  reasonable  exertions  with  my 
daughter,  to  reconcile  her  to  this  match.  And  even  more, 
I  have  done  that,  which,  when  J  have  looked  upon  her 
fading  face,  and  knew  that  she  was  martyring  her  own 
heart  to  please  me,  has  smitten  my  conscience  for  years. 
And  now  I  am  resolved  to  leave  her  to  make  her  own 
decisions,  unbiased  by  word  of  mine.  And  as  to  your 
threats,  sir,  all  I  have  to  say  is,  go,  and  do  your  worst ! 
Take  all  there  is  hereto  yourself,  if  that  will  satisfy  you  ; 
or  go  join  the  enemies  of  your  country,  as  I  have  long- 
suspected  you  intended,  and  bring  them  down  upon  us  to 
murder  and  destroy,  if  you  choose.  But  don't  think  to 
buy  and  bribe  me  to  sell  my  own  flesh  and  blood !  And 
don't  come  here  again,  sir,  with  accusations  against  us, 
till  you  can  come  with  cleaner  hands.  Good-morning,  sir ! " 

So  saying,  the  indignant  old  man  unceremoniously 
turned  his  back  on  his  abashed  and  astonished  guest,  and 
hastily  hobbled  off  to  his  work;  while  the  latter,  after 
standing  mute  and  motionless,  on  the  spot  several 
minutes,  and  leering  on  the  receding  form  of  the  other, 
with  the  concentrated  malice  of  a  fiend  in  his  looks, 
slowly  turned  away,  muttering  between  his  clenched 
teeth,  "  Revenge !  revenge  !  I  wonder  if  they  will  cheat 
me  out  of  that  too?" 


276  inE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  HOI'S. 

Feeling  no  desire  of  returning  to  the  house,  or  again 
encountering  any  of  its  inmates,  Sherwood  now  struck 
across  the  fields,  and  directed  his  course  towards  Snake 
Mountain,  at  the  particular  spot  which  we  have  before 
described  as  the  encampment  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys ;  but  which  was  now  occupied  by  another  and  a  far 
different  company.  To  this  place  we  will  now  take  the 
reader,  preceding  the  baffled  intriguer  a  short  time,  to 
take  a  glance  at  the  party  there  assembled. 

Sherwood  had  secretly  been  in  the  interests  of  the 
Royalists  for  nearly  two  years  previous  to  this  period  of 
our  story ;  and  more  than  a  year  before  he  had  received 
a  captain's  commission,  with  directions  to  raise  a  com- 
pany in  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  in  which,  he  had  rep- 
resented to  the  British  officers,  with  whom  he  privately 
kept  up  a  communication,  were  to  be  found  many  faith- 
ful adherents  of  the  Crown.  And  Darrow,  through  Sher- 
wood's influence,  had  also  been  commissioned  as  lieu- 
tenant of  the  contemplated  company.  But  with  all  that 
this  pair  of  military  worthies  were  able  to  effect,  they 
never  had  found  more  than  about  a  half  dozen  men  iiv 
this  settlement,  to  whom  they  dared  to  propose  an  enlist* 
ment  into  the  king's  service.  These,  with  about  an  equal 
number  picked  up  within  the  borders  of  New  York,  they 
had  at  length  enrolled,  and  organized  into  a  fragment  of 
a  company,  which,  for  the  first  time,  had  been  called  out 
a  few  days  previous  to  this  time,  with  the  view  of  co-oper« 
ating  with  the  invading  army  of  Burgoyne.  About  a 
dozen  in  all,  they  were  now  encamped,  on  the  ground 
formerly  taken,  as  before  mentioned,  by  Warrington  and 
his  companions,  and  were  waiting  in  concealment,  the 
approach  of  the  British  hordes,  that  were  now  pouring 
down  upon  the  devoted  settlement  from  the  north. 

At  the  time  we  would  introduce  this  group  to  the 
reader,  Darrow  had  just  arrived  from  the  British  camp, 
whither  he  had  been  despatched  by  Sherwood,  when  the 
latter  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out  on  his  recent  visit 
to  Albany.  And  having  taken  some  refreshment,  the 
lieutenant  was  now  sitting  on  a  rough  bench,  near  the 
entrance  of  their  shanty,  enjoying  a  little  repose  after 
the  fatigues  of  his  morning's  march.  He  had  fallen  into 
a  doze,  and  appeared  to  be  lost  to  all  external  objects  j 


THE  GUI: EX  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  277 

while  the  men  within,  mostly  morose,  sullen-looking 
fellows,  were  some  of  them  playing  cards,  some  telh 
ing  stories,  and  others  talking  over  the  plans  they 
had  formed  to  revenge  themselves  upon  certain  families 
in  the  settlement,  against  whom  they  entertained  private 
grudges,  as  soon  as  they  should  be  let  loose  upon  the  in- 
habitants, at  present  wholly  unprotected  by  any  military 
force  within  their  borders,  and  but  little  aware  of  the 
dangers  that  awaited  them. 

At  this  moment,  Sherwood,  having  passed  the  line  of 
sentries,  posted  at  intervals  round  the  encampment,  more 
to  guard  against  being  seen  and  reported  by  the  in- 
habitants, than  any  expected  attack,  approached  his 
sleeping  subaltern,  and  tapped  him  lightly  on  the  shoul- 
der. But  the  latter  not  awakening,  the  other  grasped 
his  coat  collar,  and  gave  him  a  rough,  impatient  shake, 
at  which  the  sleeper,  suddenly  starting,  leaped  on  his 
feet,  and  dashing  away  the  grasping  hand  of  his  superior, 
fiercely  exclaimed: 

"I'll  be  d ned,  if  you  shall!     You  have  come  before 

your  time,  be  off !  be  off,  I  say  !  Oh  !  ah  !  "  he  continued, 
rubbing  his  eyes,  and  beginning  to  distinguish  between 
the  reality  and  the  image  that  appeared  to  have  been 
haunting  his  dreaming  fancy  :  "  "Why,  Captain,  it  is  only 
you  after  all,  is  it  ?    Well,  well,  now  !  " 

"  Why,  who  did  you  suppose  it  was,  Darrow,  I  should 
like  to  know?" 

"  O,  no  matter,  now, — I  was  in  the  middle  of  a  cursed 
dream,  and  thought  a  different  character  had  waited  on 
me  to  do  a  little  business  in  his  line — though  not  so  very 
different,  perhaps.  But  let  the  humbug  go — what  is  the 
news?" 

"  Everything  that  is  bad,"  replied  Sherwood,  morosely. 
"The  very  devil  himself,  I  would  not  have  believed, 
could  baffle  me  so  much  in  my  plans,  as  I  have  been 
since  I  saw  you." 

"Why,  what  now,  Captain?  you  seem  rather  out  of 
humor — what  has  happened  ?  " 

"  In  the  first  place  the  old  man  is  dead.  He  died  the 
day  before  I  arrived." 

"  Well,  what  of  that  ?  He  did  not  carry  off  his  money 
with  him,  did  he  ?  " 


278  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  No,  but  he  got  penitent  before  he  went  off,  and  wrote 
out  a  confession  of  that  old  affair,  in  a  letter  to  Hendee." 

"  And  you  let  it  reach  him,  hey  ?  " 

"  Not  so  big  a  fool  as  you  think.  I  gave  it  to  the 
flames,  before  it  was  read  by  any  one  but  myself,  I  think." 

"Very  well,  where  are  your  great  troubles,  then  ?" 

"  Why— why — "  replied  Sherwood,  hesitating  to  inform 
the  other,  as  he  was  about  to  do,  the  particulars  about 
the  will,  and  the  extent  of  his  fears  respecting  the  dis- 
position of  the  property,  lest  the  minion  might  consider 
it  for  his  interest  to  betray  him  to  the  Hendees  :  "  why, 
I  did  not  think  to  name  it,"  continued  the  artful  dissem- 
bler, deciding  the  question  he  had  been  debating  in  his 
mind  in  the  negative,  "  but,  upon  the  whole,  as  you 
already  know  so  much  about  the  affair,  I  think  I  will : 
well,  getting  home  last  night,  I  thought  I  would  go  down 
to  Hendee's  this  morning ;  so  I  went,  and  soon  found  the 
devil  to  pay.  That  sneaking  tinker  had  been  there,  and 
confessed  all,  and  the  girl  fairly  spurned  me  from  her 
presence;  while  her  father — curse  the  old  dotard!  he, 
though  owing  me  for  half  his  living  for  years,  had  the 
audacity  to  insult  me — yes,  insult  me,  Bill. — But " — and 
he  nodded  significantly. 

"But  what?" 

"  I  can  help  myself,  Darrow." 

"Well,  I  would  do  it,  Jake,  without  any  more  putter- 
ing with  the  proud  minx." 

"  I  will.  My  plans  are  fixed.  When  did  you  return 
from  headquarters?" 

"  Not  two  hours  ago — I  left  them  early  this  morn- 
ing." 

"What  is  the  news?" 

"  The  whole  army  have  moved  on  to  the  month  of  the 
Boquet,  where  they  are  now  encamped.  A  large  body  of 
Indians  joined  them  yesterday,  and  General  Burgoyne 
distributed  presents  among  them,  made  a  speech  to  fix 
them  for  fight,  and  wound  off  by  giving  them  a  grand  war- 
feast.  Hell  and  thunder  !  what  whooping  and  yelling 
there  was  there  last  night !  one  would  have  thought  that 
allTophethad  been  emptied  upon  the  earth,  and  that  the 
world  was  alive  with  devils ! " 

"  Good !  just  the  instruments  for  our  purpose  in  pun- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  279 

ishing  the  doubly  damned  rebels  of  this  settlement.  But 
did  not  the  General  send  me  any  directions  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Darrow,  taking  a  letter  from  his  pocket, 
"  he  sent  you  this,  and  also,"  he  continued,  stepping 
within  the  shanty  and  bringing  out  a  thick  package  of 
papers,  "and  also  this  bundle  of  proclamations,  to  be 
immediately  distributed  over  the  settlement." 

"  Well,  let  us  first  see  what  the  General  has  written 
me,"  said  Sherwood  breaking  the  superb  seal,  and  read- 
ing the  contents  of  the  letter,  a  very  fair  specimen  of  the 
official  fustian  of  its  doughty  author,  who,  it  maybe  recol- 
lected, was  a  fop  in  literature  as  well  as  a  braggart  in 
arms.     The  communication  ran  thus  : — 

J.  Sherwood,  Esq.,  Captain  of  his  }fajcsty',s  Loyal  Ameri- 
cans in  the  New  Hampshire  Grants, — 

It  is  one  of  the  felicities  of  soldiership,  and  of  the  grati- 
fications of  a  commander,  to  award  the  meed  of  approba- 
tion to  fidelity  in  a  common  cause,  and  fealty  to  a  common 
sovereign.  This  meed,  sir,  I  deem  it  no  flattery  to  say  is 
yours,  speaking,  as  I  do,  from  personal  acquaintance,  and 
on  the  voucher  of  Colonel  Beverly  Robinson,  a  Loyal 
American  officer,  of  worth,  and  zeal,  and  activity. 

The  army  under  my  command  will  now  in  a  day  or  two 
move  southwardly,  mainly  by  water,  but  partly  by  land 
on  either  side  of  the  lake.  To  yon,  sir,  and  the  brave  and 
loyal  men  whom  you  have,  and  may  yet  further  induce  to 
act  with  you,  we  look  for  a  hearty  co-operation  in  all  that 
can  be  effected  on  the  eastern  shore,  and,  by  the  blessings 
of  God,  I  will  effect  much,  while  we  proceed  to  the  invest- 
iture and  consequent  capture  of  Crown  Point,  Ticonder- 
oga,  and  all  other  opposing  obstacles,  on  our  victorious 
march  to  Albany.  I  send  you  by  the  bearer,  Lieutenant 
William  Darrow,  a  package  of  proclamations,  issued  by 
me,  and  signed  by  the  same,  and  countersigned  by  Robert 
Kingston,  Esquire,  Secretary.  They  are  addresses  to  the 
deluded  and  suffering  people  of  your  settlement.  I  antic- 
ipate great  and  universal  effect  from  this  appeal,  made 
irresistible,  as  it  is,  by  offers  of  royal  mercy  to  the  peni- 
tent, arguments  of  ineffable  potency  to  the  deceived  by 
rebel  sophistry  and  falsehood,  and  by  the  palpable  shad- 
owing forth  of  the  sword  of  justice,  in  the  contingent 


280  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

action  of  our  red  allies,  to  the  perverse  and  stubborn, 
You  will  cause  one  of  these,  my  proclamations,  to  be  im 
mediately  left  at  every  cottage  and  hamlet,  if  possible,  in 
the  settlement — to  the  protestations  of  which  proclama- 
tion, together  with  such  pecuniary  inducements  as  you 
may  deem  it  expedient  to  offer  towards  redeeming  the 
land  from  the  disgrace  and  ruinous  anarchy  of  an  unnat- 
ural rebellion,  and  restoring  a  government  of  laws,  of 
honor,  of  legitimate  and  happy  sovereignty,  you  will  add 
your  own  attestations. 

With  sentiments,  believe  me, 

My  very  dear  sir,  of  esteem, 

J,  BlTRGOYNE. 

"There!  what  think  you  of  that,  Bill  ?"  exultingly  ex- 
claimed  Sherwood,  as  he  concluded  the  perusal  of  the 
precious  document.  "  Is  not  that  a  handsome  thing  for 
a  man  who  stands  so  high  at  the  British  court,  to  say  to 
and  of  us  ?  " 

"Why,  yes,  Captain,  what  he  means  is  well  enough,  1 
s'pose  ;  but  if  a  British  General  had  not  writ  it,  I  should 
have  called  some  of  it  nothing  but  damn  fjumididdie." 

"O,  it  is  a  feather  in  our  caps,  Darrow,  depend  on't. 
Burgoyne  is  hand  and  glove  with  the  king  and  ministers, 
besides  being  a  noted  warrior.  He  will  conquer  all  the 
northern  colonies.  The  rebellion,  indeed,  is  as  good  as 
crushed  already.  And  then  the  country  will  be  divided 
off  into  lordships,  and  those  who  have  been  most  active  in 
subduing  the  rebels,  will  all  receive  rich  rewards  out  of 
their  confiscated  estates.  Bright  days  are  before  us,  Bib. 
And  while  we  are  thus  making  our  fortunes,  what  a  glori- 
ous chance  to  pay  off  old  scores  upon  those  rascally  set- 
tlers? You  can  safely  act  out  nature  now,  Bill,  with  a 
vengeance.  We  will  have  our  revenge,  and  the  beauty  of 
it  is,  that  others  must  father  our  deeds,  and  pay  us  well 
into  the  bargain  for  what  it  is  only  a  happiness  to  per- 
form." 

"  What  are  your  plans.  Captain?" 

"  You,  or  I,  must  go,  this  very  night,  over  to  the  British 
camp,  and  get  Burgoyne  to  let  us  have  fifty  redskins  to 
make  up  our  company.  We  shall  want  them  soon,  and 
perhaps  I  may,  for  the  first  purpose." 


XBS  GREEX-  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  281 

t 
Damn  it,  Jake,  you  are  too  thirsty,"  said  the  minion, 
looking  keenly  at  the  other,  and  comprehending  the  pur- 
pose of  which  he  spoke :  "  they  are  your  own  flesh  and 
blood.  You  don't  mean  to  let  those  red  devils  loose  upon 
them,  do  you?" 

"No;  but  leave  me  to  take  care  of  them.  They  need 
^ot  be  harmed,  but  prisoners  they  shail  be  till  that 
haughty  jade's  pride  is  brought  to  begging  terms.  And 
this  is  the  first  case,  Darrow,  to  be  attended  to." 

"  I  am  not  quite  sure  but  there  it*  another  case  for  you 
to  attend  to,  also,  Jake." 

"  What  is  that?"  asked  Sherwood,  turning  to  the  other, 
with  a  look  of  blended  curiosity  and  apprehension. 

"Why,  perhaps  it  is  all  nothing  but  a  notion,  after  all. 
But  I  will  tell  you  the  wrinkle  that's  got  into  my  head, 
and  how  it  got  there.     In  coming  from   headquarters  to- 
day, I  ran  my  canoe  generally  close  in  to  the  shore  of  the 
other  side  of  the  lake,  and  on   arriving  within  about  a 
mile  of  Crown  Point,  and  about  as  far  as  I  intended  be- 
fore crossing  over  to  this  side,  I  took  it  into  my  head  1 
would  go  up  into  the  woods,  climb  a  tree,  and  try  to  get 
a  peep  into  the  fort,  as  the  general  asked  me  verv  partic- 
ularly about  the  number  of  the  garrison  there.     Well,  I 
tvent  on  a  piece  into  the  woods,  when  I  heard  the  £.';eps  of 
"some  one  crossing  my  course  ahead,  and  taking  his  way 
*»  the  fort ;  so  1  squatted  down  m  an  old  tree-top,  where 
•   could   remain  unseen  till  he    passed   by.     His  course 
brought  him  within  a  few  rods  of  the  spot  where  1  lay  ; 
a.id  when  nearly  abreast  of  me,  he  mounted  an  old  log, 
and,  without  discovering   me,  took  a  sort   of  leisurely 
survey  of  the  woods  around  him,  turning  his  face  so  as  to 

give  me  a  fair  view  of  his  countenance — and " 

"  Well,  what  more  about  it — who  and  what  was  he?" 

"  Why,  though  not  in  full  uniform,  I  think  he  must  be 

a  young  rebel  officer,  who  had  been  out  with  his  gun  for 

game.    Though  he  must  have  arrived  at  the  fort  quite 

lately." 

"  But  who  do  you  mistrust  him  to  be?"  asked  Sherwood, 
With  evident  uneasiness. 

"That  is  the  question  that  has  been  bothering  my 
brains  ever  since.  Jake,  don't  you  think  it  possible  for  a 
man  to  wear  about  the  same  face  and  look  that  be  dii? 


282  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

when  a  boy,  so  that  one  who  had  never  seen  him  from 
four  or  Ave  years  old  would  know  him  again  when 
grown  up?" 

"  Yes,  barely  possible ;  but  what  the  devil  are  you  com- 
ing to,  Bill?  "What  has  that  to  do  with  this  case?"  de- 
manded Sherwood,  with  an  agitation  which  he  was  unable 
to  conceal. , 

"  Maybe  a  good  deal.  There  was  something  in  this 
fellow's  looks  that  struck  me, — that  made  me  ready  to 
swear  I  had  seen  the  same  countenance  before,  though 
somehow,  not  just  the  same  neither.  Well,  he  finally 
went  on,  and  I,  forgetting  all  about  spying  into  the  fort, 
went  back,  and  struck  off  for  this  side,  this  fellow's  coun- 
tenance all  the  while  haunting  me,  and  working  up  a 
devilish  strange,  streaked  kind  of  feeling,  that  I  can't 
very  well  describe.  Well,  as  I  was  crossing  over,  still 
bothering  on  the  subject,  I  happened  to  cast  my  eyes  up 
the  lake,  when  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  old  Hendee's  house 
through  the  trees ;  and  by  heavens !  it  came  across  my 
mind,  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  who  the  fellow  must  be." 

"  What  mean  you,  Darrow  ?"  exclaimed  Sherwood,  seiz- 
ing the  arm  of  the  other  with  a  convulsive  grasp,  while 
his  face  became  as  pale  as  ashes. 

"  I  mean,"  replied  Darrow,  looking  his  agitated  com- 
panion full  in  the  face,  and  speaking  in  a  low,  measured, 
and  decisive  tone,  "  I  mean,  Jake  Sherwood,  that  if  Cap- 
tain Hendee's  boy  lived,  he  is  now  among  us  !  " 

Long  and  earnestly  communed  these  worthies  in  conjec- 
tures about  the  person  concerning  whom  Darrow  had 
made,  as  he  felt  confident  he  had,  so  startling  a  discovery. 
Who  could  he  be?  By  what  name  now  known?  Could 
he  be  aware  of  his  own  family  history?  Had  he  dis- 
covered his  relations?  were  questions  which  were  raised 
by  them,  but  without  finding  any  satisfactory  answers. 
The  two  last  questions,  however,  were  at  length  settled 
in  the  negative.  And,  after  some  further  discussion  in 
regard  to  the  best  means  of  ascertaining  more  about  the 
private  history  of  the  unconscious  object  of  their  delibera- 
tions, and  the  most  feasible  way  of  disposing  of  h>m,  if 
the  information  gained  rendered  it  probable  he  was  the 
person  they  feared  him  to  be,  they  broke  up  their  con- 
ference, Darrow  retiring  to  rest,  and  Sherwood,  witn  two 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  283 

of  his  men,  as  attendants  and  oarsmen,  setting  off  for 
headquarters,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  distant  from  the 
Tory  encampment. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

*«  Sounds  from  the  waters,  sounds  upon  the  earth, 
Sounds  in  the  air,  of  battle !     Yet  with  these  # 
A  voice  is  mingling,  whose  deep  tones  give  birth 
To  faith  and  courage." 

The  storm  of  war  which  had  been  gathering  for  some 
weeks  in  the  north,  almost  unnoticed  by  the  Americans, 
now  began  to  roll  down  upon  their  frontier  settlements 
with  a  rapidity  as  alarming  as  it  was  unexpected.  Al- 
though the  leaders  of  the  Continental  army  were  aware 
of  the  landing  of  a  large  British  force  at  Quebec,  in  the 
month  of  May,  from  which  an  invasion  was  expected, 
either  by  way  of  Oswego,  as  had  previously  been  given 
out,  or  through  the  valley  of  Lake  Cham  plain  ;  yet,  count- 
ing on  the  same  dilatory  action,  by  which  all  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy  had  been  characterized  ever  since 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  they  supposed  it  might  be  late 
in  the  summer  before  the  hostile  army,  should  they  take 
the  eastern  route,  would  reach  the  military  posts  on 
Champlain.  But  whatever  might  have  been  the  errors 
©f  other  British  commanders  in  the  respect  just  named, 
none  of  that  kind  certainly  could  be  chargeable  on  General 
Burgoyne.  The  navigable  waters  of  the  north  had 
scarcely  burst  their  wintry  fetters  before  he  landed  at 
Montreal.  And  in  another  week  he  was  pouring  the  dis- 
ciplined bands  of  his  proud  and  numerous  army  along 
the  western  shores  of  Lake  Champlain.  The  American 
generals  were,  in  a  great  measure,  taken  by  surprise  by 
this  rapid  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  having  delayed  to 
strengthen  their  defences,  they  were  but  illy  prepared 
to  meet  the  first  shock  of  so  powerful  a  force.  And  if 
those,  whose  duty  it  was  to  make  themselves  early  ac- 
quainted with  the  enemy's  movements  had  thus  been  kept 
in  the  dark  respecting  the  important  one  in  question, 
still  \m»,  m  may  well  be  supposed,  wer<&  th©  inhabitants 


284  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

of  the  country  apprised  of  the  time  and  extent  of  tft© 
coming  invasion.  The  settlers  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  who  were  directly  in  the  route  of  the  enemy, 
were  consequently  almost  wholly  ignorant  of  the  dangers 
that  awaited  them  till  the  storm  was  nearly  ready  to 
burst  on  their  defenceless  heads.  And  their  surprise, 
therefore,  was  only  equalled  by  their  dismay,  when  the 
American  scouts,  who  had  been  despatched  to  gain  in- 
telligence of  the  reported  invasion,  returned  and  spread 
the  startling  news,  that  a  British  army  of  ten  thousand 
Regulars,  with  several  thousand  savage  foes,  was  within 
a  few  miles  of  their  borders,  ready  to  spread  death  and 
devastation  over  their  whole  settlement.  This  informa- 
tion, which  many  still  hoped  might  be  false,  or  greatly 
exaggerated,  was  fully  confirmed  the  next  morning  after 
it  was  received  by  the  scouts,  by  Burgoyne's  proclama- 
tions, which,  through  the  activity  of  Sherwood's  band  of 
Tories,  had  been  left  during  the  night  at  the  door  of  every 
house  through  all  the  northern  section  of  the  country. 
This  pompous  and  gasconading  document,  however,  with 
all  its  promises  and  threats,  had,  notwithstanding  its 
author's  anticipations,  no  other  effect  on  .the  inhabitants 
than  to  bring  them  to  the  determination  of  driving  off 
their  stock  so  far  into  the  interior  as  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  enemy,  and  of  commencing  active  prepara- 
tions for  fleeing  themselves  before  the  invading  army. 

"With  these  general  observations  on  the  situation  of 
affairs  at  this  particular  junction,  we  will  now  return  to 
the  Hendee  family,  to  follow  their  fortunes  through  the 
fearful  trials  which  were  now  shortly  to  await  them. 

It  was  not  till  night,  after  the  signal  failure  of  Sher- 
wood at  their  cottage,  that  Miss  Hendee  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  ascertaining  what  had  passed  between  that 
personage  and  her  father  in  their  recent  interview.  That 
evening  Captain  Hendee,  on  his  return  from  the  labors 
of  the  day,  entered  the  room  where  Alma  happened  at 
the  moment  to  be  sitting  alone,  and  silently  took  a  seat 
at  the  open  window.  A  frown  was  upon  his  brow.  The 
uneasiness  which  a  man  of  high  spirit  may  be  expected 
to  feel  from  a  sense  of  obligations  to  one  he  secretly  de- 
spises, combined,  in  the  present  instance,  with  thj  mean 
advantage  taken  of  such  obligations  by  Sherwood,  had, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  285 

all  the  afternoon,  been  operating  upon  the  old  gentleman's 
irritable  temperament ;  and  he  was  now  evidently  in  no 
very  pleasant  frame  of  mind.  At  the  first  glance  his 
daughter  detected  in  his  countenance  the  unfailing  indi- 
cations of  a  storm  :  but  on  whom  it  was  to  burst,  she 
was  unable  to  determine.  From  the  circumstances  at- 
tending the  interview  between  Sherwood  and  her  father, 
she  felt  satisfied,  that  she,  herself,  had  been  the  subject 
of  their  discourse ;  and  although  extremely  anxious  to 
know  the  result  of  that  conference,  yet  she  almost  feared 
the  knowledge  she  wished  to  obtain.  And  with  trem- 
bling solicitude,  therefore,  she  awaited  in  silence  the 
announcement,  which  she  saw  from  her  father's  mood, 
would  not  long  be  withheld.  After  sitting  some  minutes 
puffing  away  rapidly  at  his  pipe,  and  knitting  his  brows, 
with  an  angry  flashing  expression  of  countenance,  he 
suddenly  drew  the  implement  from  his  mouth,  and  by 
way  of  knocking  out  the  ashes,  gave  it  so  spiteful  a  rap 
on  the  window-sill  as  to  shiver  it  to  pieces  in  his  hand. 
Hastily  dashing  the  broken  fragments  out  of  the  window, 
he  turned  abruptly  to  his  daughter,  and  said  : 

"Alma,  what  did  Jake  Sherwood  say  to  you  to-day?" 

"  Why,  many  things,  father, — would  you  wish  me  to 
repeat  all  he  said?" 

"Yes.  I  don't  hold  to  prying  into  such  matters,  for  a 
general  rule,  but  I  have  particular  reasons  for  wishing  to 
know  now." 

Still  feeling  uncertain  on  whom  the  resentment  of  her 
father  was  about  to  fall,  Alma,  with  some  agitation,  pro- 
ceeded to  detail  the  conversation  in  question,  giving  the 
words  used  by  Sherwood,  and  the  substance  of  her  own 
replies. 

"Threats  to  you,  too,  hey?"  said  the  Captain,  after 
listening  attentively  to  his  daughter's  relation  of  the  af- 
fair. "Why  didn't  you  drive  the  pitiful  puppy  from 
the  house  with  your  broomstick  ?  " 

"You  astonish  me,  father!"  replied  Alma,  looking  up 
into  the  face  of  the  other  with  an  expression  of  joyful 
surprise. 

The  old  gentleman  made  no  reply,  but  again  relapsing 
into  moody  silence,  sat  some  time  without  uttering  a 
"word.    At  length  he  brought  his  foot  to  the  floor  with 


286  ?HE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

an  angry,  decisive  stamp — and  while  the  tears,  which 
were  brought  to  his  eyes  by  his  keenly  conflicting  emo- 
tions, were  glimmering  on  the  quickly  moving  lashes,  he 
again  turned  suddenly  to  his  expecting  daughter  and 
asked : 

"  Alma,  are  you  willing  to  become  a  slave  ?  " 

"For  my  own,  and  your  support,  I  could  cheerfully 
become  one,  dear  father.  But  a  slave  to  a  villain  I  can 
never  he.'* 

<{  Nobly  said!  spoken  with  the  spirit  of  a  Hendee  ! 
Would  to  God  I  was  more  worthy  of  such  a  daughter  \" 
-,'xclaimed  the  passionate  old  man,  choking  with  emotion  1 
'•'  come  here,  Alma,  I  have  been  wrong,  and  you  have 
been  right, — come,  come  to  me,  my  child,  forgive  and 
kiss  me." 

In  another  instant  the  father  and  daughter  were  locked 
in  each  other's  arms,  intermingling  their  tears,  and  giv- 
ing themselves  up  to  the  gush  of  feelings  which  was 
overflowing  their  hearts  at  this  return  of  mutual  love  and 
confidence  to  their  long  estranged  and  distrusting  bosoms. 

"  I  did  not  make  any  reply  to  you,  Alma,  when  you  laid 
open  to  me  the  conduct  of  that  base  and  intriguing 
villain,"  at  length,  observed  the  Captain,  releasing  his 
daughter  from  his  embrace,  and  regaining  his  composure, 
though  the  other  continued  weeping.  "  But  it  was  not 
because  I  doubted  the  truth  of  what  you  told  me,  or  be- 
cause I  had  it  in  my  heart  to  try  to  restrain  you  any  fur- 
ther. It  was  because  I  felt  self-condemned,  guilty — guilty 
for  what  1  had  already  done  in  making  war  upon  the  hap- 
piness, and  I  know  not  but  upon  the  health,  of  my  own, 
and  only  child.  0,  don't  weep  so — don't,  my  dear  daugh= 
ter  !  Thank  God,  Ave  have  both  now  cut  the  ties  by  which 
we  were  held  in  bondage,  and  are  free.  The  Sherwoods 
may  have  all  ;  and  we  won't  trouble  them  neither  to  drive 
us  off  :  we  will  leave  this  place,  Alma,  for  the  southern 
part  of  the  settlement.  As  old  and  infirm  as  I  am,  I  can 
still  work*  Our  faithful  Neshobee  will  also  stick  by  us, 
and  work  as  much  as  an  Indian  will  ever  work,  for  you 
know  the  Indians  are  a  lazy  race,  and  we  must  make  al- 
lowance for  him.  But  at  all  events,  as  poorly  as  we  may 
fare,  our  poverty  will  be  happiness  compared  to  the  slav* 
ery  that  Jake  Sherwood  would  now  impose  on  us  M  wd 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  287 

remained.  Yes,  Alma,  we  will  go — that  is  if  you  are  will- 
ing. What  say  you,  my  daughter,  are  you  ready  to  re- 
linquish this  pleasant  home,  and  go  with  me,  penniless, 
indeed,  but  with  the  proud  and  happy  consciousness  that 
we  are  free." 

"  O,  yes,  yes,  indeed,  my  dear  father,"  eagerly  replied 
the  other,  with  a  look  of  joy  and  gratitude,  that  beamed 
brightly  through  her  still  fast  falling  tears ;  "  and  never 
could  an  eastern  slave  leave  his  gilded  fetters  behind  him 
with  more  pleasure  than  I  shall  quit  this  place.  Yes, 
yes;  and,  believe  me,  my  father,  however  hard  my  lot — 
however  menial  I  had  known  would  be  my  employment 
for  support,  I  have  not  seen  an  hour  for  the  last  two  long 
and  joyless  years,  but  my  heart  Mould  have  leaped  to 
hear  you  make  such  a  proposal.  And  if  such  then  were 
my  feelings,  judge  what  must  now  be  my  pleasure  to  hear 
your  announcement." 

The  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  a  light  rap 
on  the  door,  and  while  the  captain  and  his  daughter  were 
pausing  for  a  repetition  of  the  sound,  uncertain  whether 
it  proceeded  from  some  one  wishing  for  admittance,  the 
door  was  partly  opened  by  a  man  without,  and  the  queer 
visage  of  our  old  friend,  Pete  Jones,  was  protruded  with 
a  comical,  inquiring  look,  into  the  room. 

"  How  are  ye  ?  "  lie  said,  after  glancing  from  father  to 
daughter  a  moment,  with  a  half-sheepish,  half-roguish 
expression,  indicating  his  consciousness  of  having,  on  a 
former  occasion,  played  a  little  upon  the  credulity  of 
the  old  gentleman,  of  which  he  felt  slightly  ashamed, 
though  still  inwardly  tickled  at  the  recollection  of  the 
trick:  "  how  are  ye,  Captain?     Sarvant,  inarm  !  " 

"  It  is  Mr.  Jones  of  the  army,  father,  the  person  who 
gave  me  the  news  I  imparted  to  you  respecting  the 
expected  invasion,"  observed  Miss  Hendee,  noticing  that 
her  father  did  not  recognize  the  scout. 

"Ah  !  the  tall  gentleman  that  called  here  once — I  recol- 
lect— did  you  try  my  remedy — but  no  matter,  now — walk 
in,  walk  in,  sir,"  said  the  Captain. 

"  Why,  no,  tankee,"  replied  Jones,  leaning  his  long  body 
on  his  arm,  and  swaying  it  to  and  fro  by  the  play  of  the 
door  on  its  hinges,  as  he  grasped  the  handle,  "  I  guess 
I'm  rather  too  much  in  a  hurry  about  these  times." 


28-8        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"You  called  on  some  errand,  then?— to  give  us  soma 
news,  perhaps?"  rejoined  the  Captain,  expectingiy. 

"  Why,  yes — that  is,  if  you  would  like  to  hear  it— that 
is.  if  you  han't  heard  it  already." 

"Speak  on,  sir." 

"  Well,  I  thought  I'd  just  pop  in  my  countenance,  as  I 
came  along  back,  to  see,  that  in  case  the  devil  was  at 
your  heels,  whether  yon  would  like  to  know  it?" 

•'  You  speak  in  riddles — how  shall  I  understand  you, 
sir?" 

"  Well,  I  an't  particular  how." 

"  You   said  the  devil  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  his  name  is  Legion.  Why,  to  be  plain  about 
it,  Captain,  a  British  army  of  ten  thousand,  with  as  many 
redskins  as  one  would  wish  to  see,  will  most  likely  be 
here  before  to-morrow  night." 

"  You  astonish  me,  sir  1  Has  any  news  of  this  reached 
the  other  settlers  in  this  quarter?" 

"  I  have  just  sent  a  brother  scout  up  the  road  here, 
to  tell  them  they  may  as  well  be  driving  off  their  cattle, 
and  jogging  along  south  themselves  in  the  course  of  to- 
morrow. I  just  came  from  the  fort  over  here,  and  they've 
pretty  much  concluded  to  pack  up  there,  and  be  off  for 
Old  Ti.  to-night ;  so  the  red  coats  and  Indians  will  have 
full  play  along  the  shores  till  they  get  to  Ti.,  where  there 
will  be  something  of  a  brush,  likely." 

"  You  would  advise  us  women  and  cripples,  then,  to 
beat  a  retreat,  would  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  that's  rather  my  notion,  considering. 
Though  Burgoyne  says — haven't  you  seen  his  proclama- 
tion ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Well,  you  will  soon,  I  guess.  The  Tories  have  scat- 
tered  'em  as  thick  as  bumblebees  along  north  of  here. 
Burgoyne  says,  as  nigh  as  I  can  English  the  high-flown 
concern,  stay  at  home,  sell  him  your  cattle,  and  he  will 
protect  you.  But  if  you  budge  an  inch,  he  will  let  loose 
the  redskins  to  act  at  their  pleasure  upon  you.  And 
what  that  will  be,  you  know  as  well  as  any  man,  they 
say,  Captain." 

"  Yes,  I  know  enough  of  their  tender  mercies.  And  I 
know  also  that  Burgoyne,  whatever  he  may  promise,  can 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  289 

no  more  restrain  the  hell-hounds,  after  he  has  once  let 
them  from  their  slips,  than  he  can  crupper  the  whirl- 
winds. Montcalm  tried  that  experiment,  on  that  dread- 
ful day  of  blood  and  horror,  at  Fort  William  Henry — 
at  least,  I  think  he  tried  to  avert  the  catastrophe:  for 
Montcalm,  though  an  enemy  that  troubled  us  much,  was 
yet  a  brave  man;  and  as  a  general  rule,  my  friend,  you 
will  never  find  a  truly  brave  man  either  cruel  or  treach- 
erous. The  great  sin  is  in  employing  the  Indians.  And 
this  circumstance  will  do  much  in  the  present  case,  to 
hasten  the  destruction  of  Burgoyne.  Even  the  dead, 
almost,  will  rise  up  to  bear  arms  against  him.  All  New 
England,  in  a  week,  will  be  in  motion.  In  another  week 
as  he  passes  along  up  the  lake,  they  will  be  hanging  like 
an  angry  thunder-cloud  on  his  flank.  And,  mark  my 
word,  sir,  this  general  will  find,  before  he  reaches  Albany, 
that  neither  his  numbers  nor  his  proclamations  will  save 
him." 

"The  Lord  grant  you  may  prove  a  true  prophet,  and 
I  think,  upon  the  whole,  you  will.  Howsomever,  Cap- 
tain, it  will  be  considerable  of  a  chore  to  bring  it  all  to 
pass.  And  while  we  are  fixing  for  it,  I  rather  guess  you, 
along  the  northern  parts  here,  may  as  well  make  your- 
selves scarce  a  little." 

"We  intend  it,  sir.  Indeed,  as  regards  my  family,  we 
had  already  determined  on  a  removal  soon.  And  now 
we  shall  follow  your  advice  immediately,  with  many 
thanks  to  you  for  calling.  Let  me  see — our  first  move 
shall  be  for  Rutland,  where  we  can  probably  safely  re- 
main a  few  days,  to  conclude  on  a  place  for  a  more  per- 
manent residence." 

"Wilf  you,  sir,"  said  Miss  Hendee,  with  a  slight  blush 
as  she  perceived  the  scout  was  about  to  depart,  "will  you 
apprise  our  friends  in  the  army  of  the  destination  we 
think  of  taking?" 

"Will  you  take  this,  sir,  to  the  person  to  whom  it  is 
addressed?"  said  Miss  Reed,  who,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  conversation,  had  been  nimbly  plying  her  fingers 
over  the  blank  leaf  of  a  little  volume  which  she  had  been 
reading  in  an  adjoining  apartment,  when  the  scout's  voice 
and  anticipated  errand  brought  her  into  the  room.  "You 
see,  Alma,  I  am  not  afraid  to  write  to  my  beau;  now  I 


290  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

will  leave  it  to  the  Captain  to  say,  who  is  the  bravest?" 
she  added,  turning  to  the  latter  with  an  expression  in 
which  roguish  defiance,  and  fear  of  disapprobation,  were 
queerly  blended. 

"Ah,  girls,"  said  the  Captain  in  reply,  after  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation,  which  seemed  to  end  in  a  conclusion 
to  treat  the  matter  good-naturedly,  "you  may  be  setting 
your  caps  for  men  that  will  be  swinging  on  the  gallows 
in  three  months:  for  you  know,  in  attempted  revolutions, 
men  are  only  patriots  and  heroes  when  they  succeed,  and 
are  but  rebels  and  traitors  when  they  don't." 

"We  prefer,  however,"  replied  Alma,  with  spirit,  "to 
set  our  caps  for  men  who  may  be  hung  on  that  principle, 
rather  than  for  those  who  should  be  hung  on  every  other." 

"Is  not  there  a  law,  Captain  Hendee,"  asked  Jessy, 
archly,  "that  a  man  may  be  pardoned  on  the  gallows,  if  a 
lady  can  be  found  who  will  step  up  and  marry  him  on  the 
spot?" 

"Why,  I  have  heard  such  stories,"  replied  the  Captain 
laughing,  "but  supposing  there  was  such  a  provision,  in 
this  country,  you  little  quiz?" 

"Why,  in  that  case,"  replied  Jessy,  casting  a  roguish 
look  at  Alma,  "I  think  there  are  certain  officers  in  our 
army  who  need  not  be  under  any  great  apprehensions  of 
being  hung  at  present." 

"Now,  that  is  what  I  call  grit,"  observed  Jones,  who 
had  been  looking  on  the  two  beautiful  and  spirited  crea- 
tures before  him  with  an  admiration  equalled  only  by  his 
surprise.  "The  Colonel  and  Captain  know  considerable 
well  what  they  have  been  about,  after  all,  I  see.  Well,  I 
must  be  jogging,  I  guess,  Captain,  so  good-nigthy.  And 
you,  gals,  may  the  Lord  bless  you,  and  keep  you  steadfast 
in  your  resolution!  If  I  had  a  hogshead  of  blood,  it 
should  all  be  shed  for  ye,  and  the  like  of  ye.  Trol,  lol, 
lol,  lol  de  larly!" 

During  that  night  and  the  following  day,  all  was  bustle 
and  commotion  througout  the  northern  part  of  the  settle- 
ment. "To  arms!  to  arms!"  resounded  in  every  direc- 
tion. And  nearly  all  the  able-bodied  men  promptly 
responding  to  the  call  of  General  Schuyler,  whose  ex- 
presses were  seen  furiously  dashing  along  the  roads  to 
rally    the    hithefHto    slumbering    settlement,    seized    their 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS  201 

rifles  or  muskets  and  hastened  of!  to  join  their  country- 
men in  arms,  leaving  the  old  men,  invalids  and  boys,  to 
take  charge  of  their  families,  in  removing  from  the  scene 
of  danger.  The  stock  was  collected  in  droves,  marked 
with  the  initials  of  the  owner's  name,  and  started  off  for 
the  south;  while  the  inhabitants,  taking  with  them  all 
the  articles  of  value,  which  their  respective  modes  of 
travelling  would  permit,  collected  in  small  companies, 
and  soon  followed.  The  party  whose  destinies  more 
immediately  concern  our  story,  consisting  of  Captain 
Hendee,  Neshobee,  the  two  young  ladies,  and  their 
respective  female  domestics,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  bade 
adieu  to  their  pleasant  cottage,  and  mingled  in  the  general 
flight,  which,  by  nightfall,  brought  them  in  safety  to  the 
house  of  a  hospitable  friend  nearly  .twenty  miles  distant 
from  the  home,  to  which,  as  they  supposed,  they  were  never 
more  to  return. 


CHAPTER  X. 

— "Not  all  so  much  for  love 

As  for  another  secret   close  intent. 

By  marrying  her,   which  I   must   reach   unto, 

But  yet  I   run  before   my  horse  to   market; 

Clarence  still  breathes:  Edward  still  lives  and 

When   these    are   gone,    then   must   I   count   my  gains." 

Several  unforeseen  circumstances  connected  with  the 
removal  of  their  effects,  together  with  the  impression 
that  they  were  now  so  far  south  as  to  be  in  no  very  im- 
mediate danger  from  any  incursions  of  the  enemy,  having 
induced  our  party  to  accept  the  invitation  of  their  kind 
entertainer  to  remain  a  few  days  at  his  abode,  nearly  a 
week  had  unfortunately  been  suffered  to  elapse  without 
resuming  their  journey.  Aroused,  however,  at  length  by 
the  news  that  Burgoyne  had  reached  Ticonderoga,  and 
closely  invested  the  fortress,  while  a  party  of  Tories  and 
Indians  were  ravaging  the  country  to  the  north  of  them, 
both  the  families  of  Captain  Hendee  and  his  host,  de- 
termined on  an  instant  departure  for  a  place  of  more 
safety.      Accordingly,    with    a    few    hasty    preparations, 


293  THE  OBEEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8. 

they  started  in  their  respective  carriages  about  *h©  middle 
of  the  afternoon  for  Castleton,  which  they  were  under 
the  expectation  of  being  enabled  to  reach  by  daylight. 
The  clay  being  excessively  sultry,  Captain  Hendee,  after 
travelling  awhile  at  rather  a  brisk  pace,  checked  his 
horses,  and  suffered  them  to  fall  into  a  moderate  walk, 
during  which  the  other  part}',  who  were  in  advance,  and 
who  seemed  less  disposed  to  slacken  their  speed,  passed 
entirely  out  of  sight,  and  soon  became  widely  separated 
from  their  more  tardy  fellow-travellers.  When  our  party 
had  proceeded  several  miles  in  this  leisurely  manner,  and 
while  the  Captain,  to  use  a  quaint  and  somewhat  curious 
expression  of  the  poet  Parnell,  was  "  deceiving  the  road," 
by  the  relation  of  one  of  his  old  war  stories,  they  were 
met  by  a  stout-built,  though  an  ordinary-looking,  and 
slovenly  dressed  man  on  horseback,  who,  after  closely 
scrutinizing  the  company  a  moment,  stopped  his  horse, 
indicating,  at  the  same  time  by  his  looks  and  gestures, 
a  wish  that  the  others  should  stop  also.  Supposing  the 
stranger  was  desirous  of  making  some  enquiries,  Captain 
Hendee  instantly  pulled  up  his  horses,  and  sat  waiting, 
with  an  air  of  expectation,  for  the  man  to  proceed  with 
what  he  might  have  to  propose. 

"I  was  thinking  what  your  name  mought  be,  Mister," 
at  length  began  the  horseman,  with  a  bold,  saucy  air.  *'  It 
kinder  seems  to  me  I  have  seen  you  somewhere  or  other." 

"  Very  possibly,  sir,"  replied  the  Captain,  in  a  manner 
sufficiently  cool  and  repulsive,  as  he  thought,  to  check  the 
intrusive  familiarity  of  the  other. 

"  Well,  I  knowed  I  had,"  rejoined  the  stranger,  not 
at  all  abashed  by  the  coolness  with  which  his  advances 
had  been  met,  "and  yet  I  don't  know  aa  I  can  quite  call 
you  by  name." 

"  My  name  is  Hendee,  sir." 

"  Ah  I  O,  yes ; — you  live  down  there  against  Crown 
Point?" 

"Yes  ;  or  at  least  we  did  till  within  a  few  days.  But 
how  happens  it  that  you  are  going  to  a  part  which,  at 
this  time,  the  settlers  are  so  generally  deserting?" 

"  Why  an't  it  safe  travelling  that  way  ?  " 

"  It  would  be  for  some,  doubtless,"  replied  the  Captain 
significantly. 


TEE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  29H 

"Well,  I  s'pose  you've  hearn  of  me,"  observed  the 
stranger,  evidently  disconcerted  at  the  suspicions  which 
he  perceived  were  beginning  to  he  entertained  of  him, 
"  my  mime  is  David  Remington.  Ton  are  acquainted  in 
Castleton,  au't  you?" 

"  Yes,  with  several  individuals  m  that  town.** 

"Well,  that's  where  1  live,  when  I'm  to  home.  Do 
foil  know  Mr.  Woodward  there?  " 

"  1  do,  sir." 

"I  want  to  know?  Well,  now,  he  is  one  of  my  near 
neighbors.  Here's  a  paper  he  gin  me  t'other  day.  Jest 
read  it,  will  ye?" 

Captain  Hendee,  with  an  air  of  curiosity,  not  Un mingled, 
however,  with  surprise,  at  an  offer  so  gratuitously  made 
to  an  entire  stranger,  took  the  paper,  which  the  other 
now  extended  to  him,  and  read  as  follows  :— 

"This  may  certify  that  David  Remington,  the  bearer 
hereof,  is  thought  to  be  a  true  friend  to  the  States  of 
America. 

"JOSEPH  WOODWARD,  Com.  of  Safety.* 

«  Castleton,  June  2d,  1777." 

"This  appears  to  be  genuine,  and  should  be  sufficient," 
remarked  the  Captain  musingly,  as  he  handed  back  the 
paper.  "  Have  they  received  any  news  at  Castleton 
within  a  day  or  two,  sir?"  he  added,  with  more  freedom 
of  manner  than  he  had  before  exhibited  towards  the  other. 

"  Xews  ? — from  where  ?  " 

"  From  our  forces  at  Ticonderoga,  I  mean,  of  course." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  s'pose  so — why,  I  came  from  there  myself, 
!ast  night." 

"  Indeed,  sir  ?     Well,  what  is  the  prospect  of  St.  Clair's 

*  A  literal  copy  of  the  original  certificate,  lodged  in  the  public 
archives  of  Vermont,  and  accompanied  by  another  from  the 
noted  Tory,  Colonel  Philip  Skene,  certifying  that  Remington 
had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was  a  true  Royalist.  These 
papers,  together  with  a  receipt  signed  by  "J.  Sherwood,  Captain," 
for  two  heifers  procured  for  the  British,  by  Remington,  all  dated 
about  the  same  time,  are  supposed  to  nave  been  found  on  the 
person  of  this  or  other  Tories,  when  subsequently  slain  or  takeu 
prisoners. 


294  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

being  able  to  cope  with  the  enemy,  so  as  to  put  a  stop  to 
their  progress  at  that  place?" 

"Cope  !  hum  !  He  will  be  lucky  if  he  don't  getw  coped 
himself,  I  guess." 

"What,  sir?  The  garrison  are  in  no  danger  of  being 
taken  themselves,  surely?" 

"Well,  sir,  I  don't  pretend  to  know  nothing  about  it ; 
but  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  the  folks  about  here  heard 
news  within  twenty  four  hours,  that  made  'em  stare." 

"Impossible?  But  what  is  the  situation  of  affairs 
there,  that  leads  you  to  this  conclusion?" 

"  Why,  sir,  the  situation  is,  that  General  Red  Hazle,* 
with  his  Jarinan  brigade,  has  got  possession  on  this  side 
of  the  lake,  up  as  far  as  East  Creek,  where  he  is  now 
posted ;  while  General  Burgoyne  has  entirely  enclosed 
the  fort  on  t'other  side.  And  what  is  still  more,  he  has 
cut  out  a  road,  and  drawn  up  a  whole  slew  of  cannon 
clean  to  the  top  of  Mount  Defiance,  which  he  will  have 
all  mounted,  and  ready  to  pour  hell  and  thunder  down  on 
'em  in  the  fort  before  they  dream  of  it." 

"  Is  it  possible  that  St.  Clair  can  have  suffered  Burgoyne 
to  get  possession  of  that  commanding  spot  for  such  a 
purpose!"  exclaimed  the  Captain.  "I  knew,"  he  con- 
tinued,  "that  most  of  our  officers  in  the  old  war  used  to 
consider  that  mountain  inaccessible  with  artillery.  I, 
however,  always  thought  differently,  and  agreed,  in  this 
respect,  with  Major  Putnam,  who,  I  well  remember,  sug- 
gested the  project  of  getting  cannon  up  this  eminence  to 
General  Howe,  as  our  army  was  approaching  the  fort  the 
day  previous  to  the  battle  which  cost  poor  Howe  his  life. 
And  had  that  gallant  young  nobleman,  who  was  the  only 
lord  of  common  sense  whom  the  British  ever  sent  tc 
America,  been  spared,  the  thing  would  have  been  done, 
and  we  should  have  taken  the  fortress,  instead  of  draw- 
ing off  our  army  without  effecting  anything.  But,  as  I 
said,  is  it  possible  that  St.  Clair  can  have  permitted  this 
in  any  army  approaching  from  the  north,  and  wholly  un- 
acquainted with  the  surrounding  localities  ?  " 

*  From  original  papers,  still  preserved,  written  by  those  whose 
spelling  was  evidently  guided  solely  by  the  common  pronuncia- 
tion of  words,  it  appears  that  Gen.  Reidesel  went,  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  at  least,  by  the  name  of  Red  Hazle. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  295 

"  It  is  true,  anyhow ;  and  if  they  don't  find  themselves 
:n  a  pickle,  there  in  the  fort,  by  to-morrow  morning,  I 
lose  my  guess,"  replied  the  other,  with  a  satisfaction 
which  lie  was  unable  wholly  to  conceal. 

After  a  few  apparently  careless  inquiries  respecting  the 
destination  of  our  travellers,  and  their  expectation  of  reach- 
ing it,  Remington  seemed  suddenly  to  become  convinced 
that  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  proceed  any  further  in 
the  land-looking  excursion,  which  he  stated  was  his  busb 
ness  to  the  north,  and  announced  Ins  intention  of  imme- 
diately returning.  Accordingly,  wheeling  round  his  horse, 
and  bidding  the  company  good-day,  with  the  remark,  that 
he  should  probably  ride  rather  faster  than  their  team  would 
travel,  he  rode  off  at  a  moderate  trot,  till  the  intervening 
bushes  at  the  first  turn  of  the  road  screened  him,  as  he 
supposed,  from  the  sight  of  those  he  had  just  left,  when 
he  applied  his  whip,  and  dashed  forward  at  full  speed. 

''What  opinion  did  you  form  of  that  man,  father?" 
asked  Miss  Hendee,  after  they  had  ridden  some  distance 
in  silence. 

"  Why,  but  for  the  certificate  of  so  true  and  vigilant 
a  friend  to  the  cause  as  Woodward,  who  undoubtedly 
signed  it,  I  should  certainly  have  had  strong  suspicions 
that  the  fellow  was  some  designing  Tory,"  answered  the 
Captain,  indirectly,  and  with  the  tone  of  one  still  doubt- 
ing over  evidence  which  he  could  not  reject,  nor  yet 
receive  as  wholly  conclusive. 

"  I  know  not,"  rejoined  the  other,  "  that  I  can  give  any 
good  reasons  for  my  impressions ;  but  there  was  a  certain 
something  about  the  man,  which,  from  the  first,  struck 
me  unfavorably.  And  is  it  not  possible  that  he  may  be 
secretly  in  the  interest  of  the  enemy,  notwithstanding 
his  certificate,  which,  without  being  asked,  he  was  so 
ready  to  show?" 

"  I  noticed  his  readiness  to  show  the  paper,"  again 
replied  the  Captain,  without  any  direct  answer  to  his 
daughter's  question.  "Audit  also  occurred  to  me  that 
he  appeared  to  be  far  better  acquainted  with  the  move- 
ments of  the  British,  than  with  those  of  our  own 
army." 

"  And  did  not  you  think,  Captain  Hendee,"  observed 
Miss  Reed,  "  that  he  betrayed  a  secret  pleasure,  whpr 


296  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS. 

relating  the  perilous  situation  in  which  he  stated  the 
American  forces  to  be  placed  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  noticed  that  in  particular,"  said 
the  Captain ;  "  but  if  he  be  a  Tory,  and  has  told  us  the 
truth,  I  fear  he  has  too  much  reason  to  rejoice.  I  cannot, 
however,  think  that  St.  Clair  would  fail  to  keep  open  a 
way  for  retreat,  so  that  the  garrison  shall  not  be  taken 
in  any  event." 

"  Here,  Neshobee,"  said  Alma,  as  the  Indian,  who  had 
travelled  mostly  on  foot,  keeping  generally  a  few  rods  in 
advance  of  the  horses,  now  fell  back  to  the  side  of  the 
carriage ;  "  you  have  sometimes  shown  yourself  a  shrewd 
guesser;  and  we  will  have  your  opinion  in  this  case. 
What  did  you  think  of  the  man  father  was  talking  with 
just  now?" 

"  Me  guess  him  have  two  tongue — mean  something  no 
good,"  replied  the  native,  in  his  usual  quiet  manner. 
"  Him  no  think  me  see  him  through  the  bush,  when  him 
ride  away  slow — then  look  back  for  find  out  we  see  him, 
then  whip — off  a  gallop ! " 

"  So  much  the  better,"  remarked  Jessy,  "  for  the  faster 
he  goes,  the  further  he  will  get  from  us." . 

"Neshobee,  perhaps,  would  draw  a  different  infer- 
ence," said  the  Captain. 

"  Why  should  he,  father  ?  "  asked  Alma. 

But  the  other,  not  willing  to  alarm  the  ladies  by  nam- 
ing his  secret  apprehensions,  which,  after  all,  might  prove 
groundless,  made  only  some  evasive,  or  indifferent  reply, 
and  became  silent. 

"  He  can  have  no  immediate  communication  with  the 
Tories  and  Indians,  by  going  in  that  direction,"  resumed 
Alma.  "  They,  if  we  are  rightly  informed,  are  still  far 
behind  us." 

"  They  were  behind  us,"  observed  Captain  Hendee, 
relapsing  into  silence,  in  which  his  example  was  soon 
imitated  by  the  rest  of  the  company,  all  of  whom  seemed 
oppressed  by  that  undefined  sense  of  impending  danger, 
which  is  sometimes  felt  without  the  inclination — on  ac- 
count of  conscious  inability,  perhaps, — of  communicating 
it  to  others. 

It  was  now  drawing  towards  sunset ;  and  our  party 
had  yet  nearly  ten  miles  to  travel  before  reaching  their 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  297 

proposed  destination  for  the  night.  They  had  been,  for 
some  miles,  passing  through  a  dark,  continuous  forest, 
whose  unvaried  gloom  soon  began  to  be  increased  by  the 
shades,  which,  before  the  usual  hour,  were  slowly  steal- 
ing over  the  wilderness,  in  consequence  of  the  broad  and 
deepening  masses  of  vapor  now  gathering  along  the 
western  horizon.  And  presently,  the  low,  deep  rumbling 
of  distant  thunder,  heralding  an  approaching  shower, 
reached  the  ears  of  the  company,  and  increased  their 
anxiety  to  gain  some  opening,  at  least,  before  storm  and 
darkness,  to  say  nothing  of  their  secret  apprehensions  of 
more  terrible  foes,  should  overtake  them.  Casting  an 
uneasy  glance  at  the  lurid  and  threatening  aspect  of  the 
heavens,  Captain  Hendee  applied  the  whip,  and  was 
urging  on  his  horses  to  renewed  efforts  of  speed,  when 
his  arm  was  suddenly  seized  by  the  convulsive  grasp  of 
his  daughter : 

"  Stop !  stop !  father !  "  she  exclaimed,  in  a  low,  hur- 
ried tone,  "  look  at  Neshobee  i  There  is  danger  near 
us!" 

All  eyes  were  at  once  directed  towards  the  Indian, 
who  was  now  about  a  dozen  rods  in  front  of  the  carriage. 
He  had  turned  round,  and  with  quick  and  eager  gestures, 
was  motioning  them  to  halt.  Instantly  reining  up  the 
horses,  and  bringing  them  to  a  stand,  the  Captain,  with 
the  rest  of  the  company,  continued,  with  intense  interest 
and  alarm,  silently  to  watch  the  motions  of  the  native, 
who  seemed  to  be  still  in  considerable  doubt,  either  of 
the  nature  of  the  apprehended  danger,  or  of  the  exact 
point  from  which  it  was  to  proceed.  After  standing  a 
short  time  however  in  the  attitude  of  listening,  slowly 
turning  his  head,  as  his  eyes  were  keenly  searching  the 
woods  around  him,  he  hastily  started  back,  and,  pointing 
to  a  dark  thicket  nearly  abreast  of  the  carriage,  leaped 
nimbly  behind  a  tree,  and  seemed  awaiting  some  expected 
result.  The  next  moment  the  shrill,  quavering  sounds  of 
the  terrific  war-whoop,  issuing  from  the  coverts  in  every 
direction,  announced  to  the  appalled  travellers  the  fearful 
character  of  the  foe  by  which  they  were  surrounded. 
And  in  another  instant,  a  score  of  painted  savages  leaped 
from  the  bushes,  and  menacingly  brandishing  their 
tomahawks  aloft,  closely  invested  the  carriage.     Know 


298  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

ing  it  would  be  utterly  useless  to  attempt  any  resistance, 
the  old  veteran  put  up  the  pistols,  which  he  had  drawn 
out  on  the  first  alarm,  and,  while  the  shuddering  females, 
with  a  terrified  glance  at  the  frightful  group  around 
them,  were  burying  their  faces  in  their  hands,  very  coolly 
proceeded  by  signs,  and  such  phrases  as  he  supposed 
might  be  understood,  to  signify  to  his  assailants  that  he 
yielded  himself  and  family  as  prisoners.  The  captors, 
having  ordered  out  their  prisoners  into  the  road,  immedi- 
ately fell  to  work  with  their  knives,  in  cutting  the  har- 
ness from  the  horses,  each  of  which,  when  released,  was 
mounted  by  one  of  the  enemy,  and  ridden  off  into  the 
woods ;  while  the  carriage  was  run  into  the  nearest  thicket 
and  concealed.  The  prisoners,  including  Neshobee,  who, 
in  attempting  to  escape,  had  been  seized  and  brought  in, 
were  then  placed  in  Indian  file,  alternately  with  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  their  captors  to  guard  the  whole,  and 
marched  out  of  the  road  the  same  way  in  which  their 
horses  had  been  previously  taken,  which  soon  brought 
the  company  into  an  old,  overgrown  path,  leading  through 
the  forest  in  a  westerly  direction.  In  this  manner  our 
party  were  urged  forward  at  a  rapid  pace  for  nearly  an 
hour,  during  which  not  a  word  was  uttered  by  either 
captors  or  captured,  with  the  exception  of  Captain  Hen- 
dee,  whose  irritable  temper  occasionally  broke  out  in  a 
half-suppressed  anathema,  as  he  jarred  a  rheumatic  limb, 
while  hobbling  along  the  rough  and  frequently  obstructed 
path.  At  length,  to  the  great  and  unexpected  joy  of  the 
wearied  captives,  the  cheering  light  of  an  opening  broke 
upon  their  view,  affording  hope  that  the  fatigues,  under 
which  they  were  nearly  ready  to  sink,  were  now  to  be 
terminated  for  the  night;  and  that  they  were  to  be  favored 
with  quarters  in  some  kind  of  a  house,  instead  of  an  un- 
sheltered bed  of  earth  in  the  wilderness,  as  they  had 
anticipated.  The  opening,  consisting  of  thirty  or  forty 
acres  of  land,  and  containing  two  small  log  tenements, 
with  a  barn  of  similar  construction  attached  to  one  of 
them,  was  situated  along  the  margin  of  a  picturesque 
pond,  embedded  in  a  forest  of  majestic  pines.  On  enter- 
ing the  clearing,  Captain  Hendee  instantly  perceived  from 
appearances  about  the  cabins,  that  they  had  reached  the 
headqua-rters  of  the  gang,  who,  as  he  rightly  concluded, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYB.  299 

bad  taken  possession  of  the  place  since  its  desertion  by 
the  inhabitants.  His  horses,  that  had  arrived  before 
hiin,  had  been  turned  out ;  and  were  now  quietly  grazing 
in  the  field;  while  a  large  number  of  the  enemy,  nearly 
equalling  that  of  the  party  who  had  been  engaged  in  the 
capture,  were  scattered  about  the  place,  some  bathing  in 
the  pond,  some  fishing,  some  pitching  quoits,  and  others 
lounging  about  the  buildings.  As  he  approached  this 
portion  of  the  enemy,  the  Captain  soon  noticed  a  differ- 
ence in  the  appearance  of  many  of  them,  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  such  of  his  captors  as  had  come  under  his 
inspection,  which,  with  his  acquaintance  with  the  peculiar 
motions  and  demeanor  of  the  natives,  immediately  led 
him  to  suspect  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  band, 
though  painted  and  habited  like  Indians  were  white  men 
in  disguise.  And  he  now  readily  understood  that  he  was 
indebted  for  his  present  misfortune  to  the  traitor,  Rem- 
ington, who,  being  secretly  connected  with  this  band  of 
Indians  and  Tories,  had  doubtless  been  employed  by 
them  to  bring  intelligence  of  tbe  approach  of  such  families 
as  should  be  passing  along  the  road  ;  though  why  his 
own  family  should  have  been  thus  particularly  marked 
for  capture,  while  others  were  suffered  to  escape,  it  did 
jjot  at  that  time  occur  to  him. 

When  our  party,  with  their  captors,  arrived  at  the 
first  cabin,  which  they  reached  about  dark,  they  were 
halted  at  the  door,  while  a  consultation  was  held  at  some 
distance  aloof  between  two  or  three,  who  appeared  to 
have  the  control  of  the  band;  after  which,  one  of  them 
came  forward,  and,  having  first  caused  Neshobee  to  be 
taken  to  the  barn,  motioned  to  the  rest  of  the  prisoners, 
except  Miss  Hen  dee,  who  stood  in  the  rear,  to  enter  the 
house.  Perceiving  it  was  intended  to  separate  her  from 
her  friends,  the  alarmed  maiden  suddenly  darted  by  her 
immediate  keepers,  and  attempted  to  reach  the  door  at 
which  her  father  at  that  moment  was  entering.  A  rough 
hand,  however,  was  instantly  extended,  and,  grasping 
her  arm,  rudely  pulled  her  back. 

"Kill  me,  if  you  will,"  she  exclaimed,  «  kill  me,  but  let 
me  die  with  my  friends." 

"  Prisoners  can't  always  be  choosers,  my  proud  one,r 
said  the  apparent  savage  in  good  English. 


300  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"It  is  Darrow!"  said  Alma,  with  blanching  feature^ 
and  with  a  look  of  alarm,  which  the  brandished  toma- 
hawk of  the  Indian  had  failed  to  call  forth.  "  I  see  it  all, 
and  know  the  design.  Death  I  fear  not ;  but  such  a 
fate! — Oh!  as  you  value  the  innocence  and  eternal  peace 
of  your  daughter,  protect  me,  my  father." 

Comprehending  the  meaning  of  his  daughter,  and  ap- 
preciating all  her  apprehensions,  even  before  she  had 
done  speaking,  the  maddened  father  hastily  drew  a  pistol 
from  his  pocket,  and  discharged  it  full  at  the  head  of 
Darrow.  The  bullet  grazed  the  temple  of  the  astonished 
ruffian,  and  his  locks  were  slightly  singed  by  the  burning 
powder;  but  he  escaped  with  no  other  injury.  Recover- 
ing from  the  shock  of  the  explosion,  he  hurriedly  pulled 
out  one  of  the  heavy  pistols  which  hung  in  his  belt,  raised 
it  to  the  breast  of  his  unflinching  opponent,  and,  with  the 
look  of  a  fiend,  was  in  the  act  of  taking  deliberate  aim, 
when  the  heroic  girl,  who  was  the  innocent  cause  of  the 
strife,  suddenly  threw  herself  between  her  father  and  the 
weapon  levelled  for  his  destruction.  After  holding  the 
deadly  implement  in  the  same  threatening  position  nearly 
a  minute,  as  if  deliberating  whether  he  would  send  the 
bullet  through  both  father  and  daughter,  for  the  sake  of 
wreaking  his  vengeance  on  the  former,  the  balked  villain 
with  an  angry  movement  thrust  the  pistol  into  its  piace, 
and  turning  to  his  men,  fiercely  exclaimed  : 

"Seize  the  damned  old  dotard!  Secure  him,  and  let 
him  wait  for  my  revenge  till  I  have  disposed  of  tins  silly 
jade.  She  will  soon  find  out,  I  guess,  what  she  has  gained 
by  the  rumpus,"  he  added,  again  grasping  the  arm  of  his 
recoiling  victim,  and,  regardless  of  her  shrieks,  roughly 
dragging  her  off  to  the  other  cabin;  while,  in  obedience 
to  his  orders,  his  painted  minions  proceeded,  with  demo- 
niac glee,  to  bind  the  old  gentleman,  and  thrust  him  with 
the  rest  of  the  prisoners  into  the  house.  With  the  assist- 
ance of  his  men,  several  of  whom  he  ordered  to  attend 
him,  Darrow  soon  succeeded  in  forcing  his  half-senseless 
victim  to  the  other  cabin,  situated  on  the  shore  of  the 
pond,  near  the  western  extremity  of  the  clearing;  when, 
opening  the  door,  he  gave  her  a  spiteful  push,  which  sent 
her  reeling  through  the  entrance,  at  the  same  time  gruffly 
exclaiming : 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS.  301 

"There,  madam  !  there  are  your  quarters  for  the  pres- 
ent. And  let  me  just  inform  your  ladyship,  that  the  less 
fuss  you  make  ahout  the  matter  the  hetter  it  will  be  for 
you." 

With  this  he  drew  the  door  to  and,  after  posting  a 
guard  round  the  house,  returned  to  the  main  body  of  his 
band,  who  were  now  assembled  round  the  first  mentioned 
nouse,  busily  engaged  in  cooking  their  suppers  in  the 
open  air,  or  patching  up  the  leaky  roof  of  the  log  barn, 
to  protect  those  from  the  threatening  storm  who  should 
be  compelled  to  take  quarters  in  it,  in  consequence  of  the 
arrangement  which  the  leaders  had  seen  fit  to  make  of 
placing  the  prisoners  in  separate  houses. 

After  being  left  alone,  Miss  Hendee  made  an  effort  to 
regain  her  composure.  And  having  succeeded  in  a  good 
degree,  she  proceeded,  by  the  dim  twilight  yet  remaining, 
to  examine  the  interior  of  the  house,  containing  but  a 
single  room  on  the  ground  floor.  Three  or  four  old 
chairs,  a  rough  pine  table,  and  a  straw  bed  laid  upon 
a  rudely  constructed  bedstead,  with  a  couple  of  coarse 
blankets  for  covering,  constituted  all  the  visible  furniture 
of  the  cabin.  With  these  observations,  she  seated  her 
self  in  a  chair,  and  endeavored  to  think  coolly  on  the 
novel  and  alarming  situation  in  which  she  now  found 
herself  placed.  From  Sherwood's  known  connection 
with  Darrow,  the  apparent  leader  of  the  present  hand, 
she  had  but  little  doubt  that  the  former  was  in  fact  the 
commander  of  these  marauders,  or  at  least  the  instigator 
of  the  seizure  of  herself  and  family.  And  in  either  case, 
she  was  at  no  loss  to  understand  that  the  possession  of 
her  person  was  the  main,  if  not  the  only  object,  of  the 
present  capture.  Nor  did  she  doubt,  for  similar  reasons, 
that  Sherwood  must  be  near, — probably  already  on  the 
ground.  And  from  the  circumstance  of  her  being  sepa- 
rated from  her  friends,  and  confined  alone,  she  felt 
but  too  fearfully  certain  that  a  fate  was  in  reserve  for 
her  on  which,  at  the  best  she  could  hope  for,  she  shud- 
dered to  think.  After  she  had  remained  in  this  situation 
awhile,  listening  to  every  movement  from  without,  and 
starting  at  the  sound  of  every  footstep,  lest  it  prove  the 
herald  of  a  visit  from  Sherwood,  which  she  now  every 
moment  expected  would  be  paid  her,  and  to  which  she 


S02  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

flooked  forward  with  a  dread  that  the  anticipated  pres 
ence  of  no  other  foe  could  impart,  the  door  was  thrown 
open,  and  a  man  unceremoniously  entered.  She  hastily 
rose  from  her  seat  and  threw  a  look  of  alarm  towards  the 
intruder.  A  second  glance,  however,  told  her  that  he  was 
not  the  dreaded  visitor,  but  only  one  of  the  disguised 
Tories  come  to  bring  her  lights  and  refreshment.  Flac 
ing  the  torch  which  he  bore  in  the  chimney,  the  man 
silently  advanced,  and  set  a  trencher  of  coarse  food  on 
the  table;  after  which  he  turned,  and  departed,  neithei 
questioning  nor  questioned.  Feeling  no  inclination  tn 
taste  the  food,  the  hapless  girl  resumed  her  seat,  and 
again  gave  herself  up  to  the  distressing  thoughts  which 
her  situation  was  so  well  calculated  to  inspire.  The  last 
gleams  of  twilight  had  now  faded  away,  and  night  had 
fallen  upon  the  earth  with  almost  Egyptian  darkness. 
There  was  a  low,  rushing  si  und  rbroad,  betokening  an 
approaching  conflict  of  the  elements.  The  attention  of 
Alma  being  arrested  by  these  renewed  indications  of  the 
storm,  which,  for  several  hours,  appeared  to  have  been 
slowly  concentrating  its  forces  in  tkn  distance,  she  arose 
and  went  to  a  narrow  window,  that  opened  upon  the  dark 
waters  of  the  forest-girt  pond.  The  ominous  sounds  be- 
fore heard  had  given  place  to  the  more  audible  murmurs 
of  the  troubled  air,  which  in  fitful  and  variant  undula- 
tions, now  moaned  dismally  along  the  ground,  and  now 
piped,  in  brief  and  broken  strains  of  melancholy  music, 
among  the  tops  of  the  neighboring  pines.  Large,  black 
masses  of  jagged  clouds  were  hurrying  through  the 
heavens,  which  were  occasionally  made  visible  by  slight, 
quivering  flashes  of  the  electric  fires,  partially  disclosing 
the  broad  outlines  of  the  convolving  vapor  above,  and 
dimly  lighting  up  the  dark  landscape  of  wilds  and  waters 
beneath.  While  the  maiden  was  looking  abroad  upon  this 
scene  of  gloomy  magnificence,  which  seemed  strangely  to 
harmonize  with  the  kindred  gloom  of  her  own  sad  and 
desolate  bosom,  a  bright,  but  far-off  flash  gleamed  fiercely 
athwart  her  vision.  Turning  her  eyes  to  the  quarter 
whence  it  proceeded,  she  beheld  a  distinct,  attenuated, 
and  ribbon-like  flame  approaching  from  a  distant  part  of 
the  horizon,  and  describing  in  its  apparently  slow,  and 
crinkling  movement,  as  it  came,  an  arch  of  fearful  splen* 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  303 

dor  across  the  illuminated  heavens.  The  next  instant  it 
fell  upon  the  top  of  a  towering  dry  pine,  standing  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  pond,  and  hurled  the  blazing  frag- 
ments of  its  giant  trunk  in  every  direction  over  the 
woods,  and  far  into  the  hissing  and  bubbling  waters 
around.  A  single  stunning  report  followed,  and  all  with- 
out was  again  dark  and  silent.  Recoiling  at  the  shock  of 
the  deafening  concussion,  and  almost  blinded  by  the  in- 
tensity of  the  flash,  the  astounded  girl  turned  suddenly 
from  the  window,  and  attempted  to  grope  her  way  back 
to  her  seat.  Before  reaching  it,  however,  a  slight  noise 
within  the  room  arrested  her  steps.  Pressing  her  hand 
upon  her  eyes  an  instant  to  enable  her  to  discern  the  ob- 
jects in  the  dimly  lighted  apartment,  she  sent  an  appre- 
hensive glance  towards  the  door,  when  to  her  unspeak- 
able dismay,  she  encountered  the  basilisk  eyes  of  Slier- 
wood,  who  was  quietly  standing  within  the  entrance, 
and  looking  upon  her  with  an  expression  in  which  guilt, 
effrontery,  and  triumph  were  singularly  blenaeu. 

"Leave  me!  "  she  exclaimed,  as  the  other  now  began 
to  advance  towards  her;  "leave  me,  sir!"  she  repeated 
with  all  the  firmness  and  decision  of  manner  she  could 
command,  while  she  gradually  retreated  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  room. 

"  Why  should  I  leave  you,  captious  girl,"  he  responded 
in  his  usual  and  affectedly  meek  and  plausible  manner, 
"why  should  I  leave  you,  or  you  desire  it,  when  lam  the 
only  friend  to  whom  you,  or  your  family, can  look  for  in- 
tercession with  those  into  whose  power  you  have  fallen  ? 
Having  heard  of  your  misfortune,  I  hastened  immedi- 
ately to  the  spot,  and  have  but  this  moment  arrived." 

"Base  dissembler!"  said  Alma,  with  an  indignation 
which,  for  the  instant,  seemed  to  overpower  every  other 
feeling,  "will  you  pretend,  sir,  that  these  are  not  all 
your  doings?" 

"  Why — wny,  I  admit,"  he  replied,  considerably  dis- 
concerted at  the  question  and  pointed  manner  of  the 
other,  which  led  him  to  suppose  that  she  had  by  some 
means,  received  a  much  more  certain  knowledge  of  his 
connection  with  the  band  than  she  really  had;  "  I  admit 
that  these  men  belong  to  a  company  which  I  have  a  com- 
mission to  command.    But  I  protest,  I  have  had  nothing 


804  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

to  do  with  your  capture.  And  why  should  you  aiwaya 
be  imputing  to  me  the  worst  motives  for  every  action  I 
may  perform  ?  Here,  now,  I  come  to  befriend  and  save 
you;  and  you  receive  me  only  with  insults!" 

"I  will  put  the  sincerity  of  your  professions  to  the 
test,  sir,"  promptly  rejoined  the  other.  "  If  you  really 
i!arae  to  befriend  me  and  have  the  power,  as  you  admit, 
let  me  go  instantly  to  my  father  and  friends." 

"  Why,  the  time  has  arrived,  it  strikes  me,  when  I  am 
under  no  very  particular  necessity  of  being  further  dic- 
tated," sneeringly  replied  the  villain,  now  throwing  off 
the  mask,  which  he  perceived  was  serving  him  but  little 
purpose.  "I  have  a  certain  condition  to  propose,  and 
when  you  comply  with  that,  neither  you  nor  your  family 
are  longer  prisoners." 

The  heart  of  the  wretched  girl  sunk  within  her,  but 
she  made  no  reply. 

"  You  have  not  forgotten,  probably,"  resumed  the 
other,  "  our  late  interview,  when  I  proposed  the  fulfil. 
ment  of  a  long  settled  engagement. — Well,  if  you  have,  I 
have  not,  nor  the  manner  in  which  my  overtures  were 
then  treated.  But  notwithstanding  all  the  scorn  and 
abuse  I  have  received  both  from  you  and  your  father,  I 
still  feel  disposed  to  allow  you  a  chance  to  fulfil  that 
engagement,  which,  as  a  prisoner,  and  in  my  power,  is 
more  than  you  could  reasonably  expect.  I  am  still  will- 
ing to  make  you  my  legal  wife  ;  but  it  must  be  done  on 
the  spot.  I  have  a  clergyman  within  call  to  perform  the 
ceremony.    Will  you  consent?" 

"  Never  I "  replied  the  indignant  and  yet  unconquered 
girl.  "  What  1  consent  under  such  circumstances — under 
the  menaces  here  held  forth,  and  the  feelings  here  ex- 
hibited ?— -I  would  as  soon  unite  myself  to  a  fiend  !  con- 
sent to  such  a  mockery,  intended  only  to  disguise 
violence  and  outrage,  under  the  sacred  rite  of  mar- 
riage ?  Never  !  While  death  can  be  my  alternative,  O, 
never ! " 

"  But  supposing  death  cannot  be  your  alternative,  yon 
foolish  girl  ? "  said  the  miscreant  suitor  in  a  taunting 
tone.  "  You  will  do  well,  perhaps,  to  bear  in  mind  that 
your  person  is  already  in  my  power ;  and  that  I  am  the 
one  to  name  your  alternative.    And  I  shall  name  one, 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  305 

too,  in  which  I  shall  be  likely  to  dispense  with  the  ser- 
vices of  the  parson." 

"Monster!"  exclaimed  the  aroused  maiden,  with  an 
energy  which  insulted  virtue  alone  could  have  excited, 
"  begone  with  your  polluting  presence,  lest  the  thunders 
of  Heaven,  which  are  now  angrily  rolling  over  our  heads, 
strike  you  to  the  earth  in  vengeance  for  your  meditated 
villainies ! 

With  all  the  innate  baseness  and  disguised  effrontery 
of  his  nature,  Sherwood  could  not  help  quailing  under  the 
withering  scorn  and  almost  unearthly  majesty  which  ac- 
companied this  bold  rebuke;  and  unable  to  summon  the 
hardihood  to  proceed  any  further  at  present,  he  turned 
towards  the  door,  muttering  as  he  went: 

"Well,  we  will  soon  see  who  is  to  be  balked  this  time! 
Two  hours,"  he  added,  pausing  at  the  threshold  and  look- 
ing back,  without,  however,  venturing  to  raise  his  eyes 
to  the  face  of  the  other,  who  still  stood  fearlessly  con- 
fronting him, — "just  two  hours  shall  be  allowed  you  to 
conclude  which  of  the  two  alternatives  you  will  embrace, 
and  in  making  up  your  mind,  you  may  as  well  take  into 
consideration,  that  your  father  attempted  the  life  of  my 
lieutenant,  who  will  require  such  an  inducement  as  I 
alone  can  offer  him,  to  make  him  relinquish  his  purpose 
of  revenge." 

After  the  first  glad  and  grateful  sensations  of  relief, 
which  came  over  the  feelings  of  our  heroine  on  being  freed 
from  the  dreadful  presence  of  her  relentless  persecutor, 
had  passed  away,  all  the  moral  energy,  that  had  sus- 
tained her  through  her  fearful  trial,  forsook  her,  while, 
with  it,  her  over-strained  nerves,  which  so  powerful  an 
excitement  had  braced  for  the  exigency,  gave  way  ;  and 
weak,  exhausted,  and  despairing,  she  tottered  across  the 
room  and  throwing  herself  upon  the  miserable  pallet, 
yielded  herself  up,  for  a  while,  to  the  dread  certainties  of 
a  fate,  which  now  even  ever-flattering  hope  could  suggest 
no  way  of  escaping.  For  her  family  she  felt  no  great 
apprehensions  of  any  fate  much  more  severe  than  that 
which  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  ordinary  prisoners ;  since 
the  present  contest,  as  she  was  aware,  had  so  far  been 
conducted,  wherever  the  Indians  had  been  employed,  on 
altogether  different  principles  from  the  preceding  wars 


306  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY& 

in  this  country.  And  contenting  themselves  with  pian. 
der,  the  savages  had  generally,  on  making  prisoners, 
delivered  them  over  unharmed  to  their  white  allies,  when 
such  only  as  had  been  found  in  arms  were  retained,  while 
the  rest,  especially  females,  and  the  young  and  aged,  were 
soon  dismissed  for  their  homes.  Nor  could  she  believe 
that  either  Darrovv  or  Sherwood  really  intended  as  they 
had  threatened,  to  make  her  father  an  exception  for  an 
act  which,  however  hasty  it  might  have  been,  had  resulted 
in  no  injury.  But  all  these  considerations  could,  in  her 
present  peculiar  situation,  be  of  no  avail  to  herself.  An 
immediate  escape,  or  some  sudden  rescue,  were  apparently 
the  only  means  of  snatching  her  from  the  impending 
doom.  And  yet  how  were  either  of  these  to  be  effected? 
Any  attempt  to  get  from  the  house,  guarded  as  it  was  by 
posted  sentries,  the  sound  of  whose  footsteps  frequently 
reached  her  ear,  she  knew  would  be  utterly  useless. 
Equally  futile  also  must  be  the  hope  of  any  rescue  till 
long  after  her  fate  would  *>e  decided.  No  other  resource, 
therefore,  remained  to  her  but  to  face  the  danger,  as 
terrible  as  it  was  to  her,  even  in  the  least  abhorrent  of 
the  alternatives  which  had  been  set  before  her,  and  per- 
severe in  the  determination  she  had  already  announced 
of  resistance  unto  death.  And  she  earnestly  besought 
the  great  Protector  of  the  innocent  and  injured  to  arm 
her  with  strength  and  fortitude  to  meet  the  coming  trial, 
or  interfere,  in  his  mercy,  to  save  her  from  its  terrors 
and  perils. 

While  the  mind  of  the  almost  frantic  girl  was  thus 
painfully  engrossed,  as  she  was  reclining  on  the  bed  with 
her  face  buried  in  the  clothes,  a  noise,  different  from  any- 
thing she  had  before  heard,  and  proceeding  from  some 
point  above,  but  seemingly  neither  exactly  within  nor 
without  the  building,  had  several  times  reached  her  ear. 
And  now  it  became  too  distinct  not  to  attract  her  particu- 
lar notice.  Startled,  though  as  yet  not  seriously  alarmed, 
she  hastily  rose  and  endeavored  to  ascertain  the  nature  of 
the  sounds  that  had  disturbed  her.  The  rain,  which  had 
now  for  some  time  been  heavily  pouring  to  the  earth,  had 
extinguished  the  fire,  and  while  utter  darkness  pervaded 
the  room,  nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  the  ceaseless  roar 
of  the  descending  torrents.    At  length,  however,  the 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS.  307 

noise  was  repeated.  It  appeared  to  proceed  from  the  fltio 
of  the  chimney,  down  which,  it  soon  became  evident,  that 
something  possessing  life  and  motion,  was  slowly  and 
cautiously  descending  into  the  room ;  but  whether  it  was 
a  man,  or  wild  beast,  she  was  unable  to  determine.  Pres- 
ently the  mysterious  object  seemed  to  reach  the  hearth. 
And,  in  a  short  time,  the  dark  outlines  of  a  seemingly 
shapeless  figure  became  discernible  to  the  perplexed,  and 
now  thoroughly  frightened  maiden.  Her  excited  imagina- 
tion instantly  took  wing,  and  in  the  bewilderment  of  the 
moment,  the  motionless  object  swelled  into  a  ferocious 
monster,  preparing  to  clutch  her  in  his  horrid  embrace. 
A  strange  feeling  of  undefined  fear  and  dread  took  pos- 
session of  her  bosom,  and  seemed  to  paralyze  all  her 
faculties.  She  tried  to  speak,  but  could  utter  no  sound — 
to  move,  but  her  limbs  refused  to  do  their  office ;  while 
a  peculiar,  cold,  curdling  sensation,  commencing  with  the 
crown  of  her  head,  settled  over  her,  converting  her  whole 
system  into  a  helpless,  inanimate,  and  frozen  mass,  alike 
incapable  of  thought  and  action.  At  that  instant  a  vivid 
flash  of  lightning  lit  up  the  room  with  the  brightness  of 
the  noon-day's  sun,  and  broke  the  spell  that  had  so 
strangely  enthralled  her  senses  :  for,  equally  to  her  joy 
and  surprise,  she  beheld,  in  the  object  of  her  alarm,  no 
other  than  her  faithful  friend  Neshobee,  who,  uncertain 
whether  the  room  might  not  contain  some  of  the  enemy 
as  well  as  his  mistress,  whom  he  knew  to  be  confined 
here,  had  squatted  in  the  fireplace,  after  his  descent,  with 
the  view  of  ascertaining  the  fact  before  he  should  speak  or 
advance. 

"  Umph ! "  uttered  the  Indian,  apparently  nearly  as 
much  relieved  as  his  mistress,  at  the  mutual  disclosure. 
"Missus  Alma  speak  very  no  loud,"  he  continued,  in  a 
half  whisper,  as  he  glided  noiselessly  forward  to  her  side, 
and  laid  his  hand  on  her  arm  in  token  of  caution,  'j  Them 
three  Tory,  what  stand  for  watch,  all  gone  fore  side  for 
get  out  of  the  rain,  and  so  no  see  Neshobee  climb  up  back 
side  and  come  down  chimney.  But  Missus  talk  soft,  them 
stand  close  up  side,  hark  um,  hear  urn,  catch  um  Nesho- 
bee." 

"  How  fares  it  with  my  father  and  the  girls— are  they 


308  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0JT8. 

still  in  the  other  house,  and  yet  unharmed?"  eagerly 
whispered  Alma. 

"All  urn  there.  Them  Tory  and  Indian  all  in  the  barn 
when  the  rain  come.  Leak  down,  make  ura  jump  crowd 
thick,  so  no  see  Neshobee  creep  away.  Me  go  back  side 
t'other  house,  peep  through  crack,  see  um  there  when  flash 
come  bright.  Cappen  hands  all  tie  tight.  Him  looll 
sorry.  Three  t'other  girls  lay  on  straw  in  corner — cry 
much — all  look  very  scare." 

"  And  what  is  to  become  of  us,  Neshobee?"  asked  Alma 
mournfully,  as  she  brushed  away  a  tear,  elicited  by  tha 
Indian's  brief  but  graphic  and  touching  description  of  the 
situation  of  her  friends. 

"  Neshobee  no  get  in  there  for  help  Cappen  and  them. 
But  me  help  Missus  Alma  up  chimney,  get  out  and  they 
no  hear  so  long  the  rain  pour  hard." 

"  No,  no,  Neshobee,  it  is  impossible,"  replied  Alma, 
after  reflecting  a  moment  on  the  proposal  of  her  friend, 
who  had  run  such  risks  to  rescue  her.  "  Could  I  succeed 
in  getting  out  upon  the  house,  my  light  dress,  if  nothing 
else,  would  betray  us  to  the  guards,  and  we  should  both 
be  taken.  And  even  could  I  escape,  how  could  I  with- 
stand an  exposure  all  night  in  the  woods'  to  this  dreadful 
storm  ?  No,  Neshobee,  leave  me  to  my  fate,  which  will 
probably  be  decided  long  before  you  can  be  the  means  of 
our  rescue.  But  my  poor  father  and  the  girls  you  may 
perhaps  be  instrumental  in  saving.  Then  go,  Neshobee. — 
If  you  succeed  in  escaping  from  this  place,  proceed  direct- 
ly to  our  army  at  Ticonderoga,  and  tell  them  that  we  are 
prisoners  to  Sherwood  and  Darrow,  with  a  band  of  Tories 
and  Indians.  Tell  Colonel  Warrington  or  Captain  Selden 
that  father's  life  is  threatened — that  I — O,  heavens !  but 
-et  my  situation  be  passed  over.  And  should  they  send  a 
force  to  deliver  us,  as  I  know  they  will,  you  can  guide  it 
to  the  spot.  Now,  don't  hesitate  to  leave  me,  my  faithful 
friend, — to  leave  me  to  the  care  of  Heaven,"  she  added, 
laying  her  hand  on  the  other's  shoulder  and  gently  push- 
ing him  towards  the  avenue  by  which  he  descended  into 
the  room.  "  Don't  delay  an  instant.  Go,  and  I  will  ask 
the  blessing  of  a  good  Providence  to  speed  you  on  your 
Way." 

"  Me  go,"  laconically  responded  the  native,  vanishing 


THE  GREEN"  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  30? 

i.rom   the  sight  of   his   mistress  in  the  darkness,  and 
silently  ascending  the  chimney. 

After  anxiously  listening1  a  few  moments  to  the  can. 
tious  egress  of  her  messenger,  and  satisfying  herself  that 
he  had  reached  the  ground,  and  escaped  undiscovered,  the 
unhappy  girl  once  more  returned  to  her  homely  couch, — ■ 
not  there,  however,  to  find  repose  or  any  alleviation  of  the 
woes  that  so  deeply  oppressed  her  feelings.  The  dis- 
tracting apprehensions,  from  which  her  mind  had  been  in 
some  measure  diverted  by  the  presence  of  her  humble 
friend,  now,  on  his  departure,  returned  with  tenfold  force 
to  her  mind.  And  a  feeling  of  utter  loneliness  and  deso- 
lation took  possession  of  her  desponding  bosom.  Con- 
scious that  the  time  set  by  Sherwood  for  his  return,  to 
execute  one  of  the  dreadful  alternatives  with  which  he 
had  brutally  menaced  her,  was  now  nearly  at  hand,  and 
her  feelings  becoming,  at  the  maddening  thought,  too  in- 
tense to  permit  her  to  remain  longer  quiet,  she  arose,  and 
again  took  her  station  at  the  little  window.  The  storm- 
cloud  still  girt  darkly  and  heavily  the  whole  visible  hori- 
zon ;  and  the  elements  were  in  fearful  commotion.  The 
howling  of  the  blast,  as  it  swept  over  the  vexed  wilder- 
ness, attended  by  the  crash  of  falling  trees,  the  deep,  but 
varying  roar  of  the  deluging  torrents  of  wind-driven  rain, 
and  loud  over  all,  the  terrific  peals  of  bursting  thunder, 
preceded  by  flashes  of  lightning  that  seemed  to  envelop 
earth  and  heaven  in  a  blaze,  came  mingling  on  the  senses 
in  awful  tumult.  And  yet  the  scene,  as  awful  as  it  was, 
and  would  have  been  to  her  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
had  no  terrors  for  the  wretched  captive  now  ; — nay,  as 
the  forked  lightnings  were  leaping  from  cloud  to  cloud, 
and  darting  to  the  earth  in  terrific  gambols  around  her, 
she  felt  a  strange  pleasure  in  their  fearful  proximity. 
And,  regarding  them  as  the  instruments  of  Heaven, 
which  might  perhaps,  be  commissioned  for  her  deliver- 
ance, she  often,  during  that  dreadful  hour,  under  the  wild 
impulses  of  maidenly  terror  and  despair,  with  which  the 
recurring  thoughts  of  her  situation  filled  her,  involun- 
tarily stretched  forth  her  hand  towards  the  deeply  charged 
clouds,  as  if  to  invoke  the  fatal  shaft  to  descend,  and 
snatch  her  from  a  doom  to  which  death  was  a  boon  of 
mercy.    But  that  Heaven  to  which  she  was  looking  to 


810  THE  GREET?  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

relieve  her  thus,  had  reserved  her  for  another  fate  :  tbfc. 
storm  rolled  heavily  away,  and  left  her  beauteous  form 
unscathed.  The  rain  at  length  ceased  ;  and  the  light- 
nings, as  they  played  along  the  black  parapet  of  clouds, 
that  lay  piled  in  the  east,  shone  with  less  dazzling  fierceness 
and  only  to  show  the  ravages  which  the  tempest  had  left 
behind.  As  mute  and  desponding,  the  lovely  captive 
stood  with  her  eyes  still  vacantly  riveted  on  the  receding 
storm,  she,  during  the  continuance  of  a  bright  and  linger- 
ing flash  of  lightning,  cast  her  eye  obliquely  towards  the 
quarters  of  her  enemies,  when  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 
man  picking  his  way  along  the  half  flooded  path  leading 
to  her  cabin,  whom  sbe  instantly  recognized  to  be  the 
dreaded  Sherwood.  A  deadly  sickness  camf  over  her,  her 
brain  began  to  whirl,  and  she  sunk  senseless  on  the 
fioor- 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"  For  freedom's  battle  once  begun, 
Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son, 
Though  baffled  oft,  is  ever  won." 

While  the  incidents  last  described  were  transpiring, 
<a,n  event  occurred  which  spread  consternation  and  alarm 
over  all  the  neighboring  country.  This  was  the  unexpected 
evacuation,  of  the  important  fortress  of  Ticonderoga,  to 
which  the  Americans  seemed  to  have  confidently  looked 
as  a  barrier  which  was  to  interpose  an  effectual  check  to 
the  further  progress  of  Burgoyne  in  that  quarter.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  said  of  the  remissness  of  General 
St.  Clair,  in  suffering  the  enemy  to  gain  those  advantages 
which  compelled  him,  for  the  salvation  of  his  army,  to 
evacuate  that  post,  and  whatever  disasters  were  imme- 
diately occasioned  by  the  movement,  the  final  conse- 
quences wrhich  resulted  from  the  event,  proved  highly 
auspicious  to  the  American  arms.  For  while  it  inspired 
the  British  General  with  an  undue  confidence  of  success, 
and  caused  him  to  push  rashly  into  the  heart  of  the 
country,  it  at  once  aroused  the  Americans  from  the 
apathy,  with  which  they  seemed  to  have  viewed  the  a> 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0Y8.  811 

proach  of  the  invading  army,  and.  kindled  up  the  flagging 
spirit  of  patriotism  to  a  pitch  of  enthusiasm  that  soon 
brought  the  rallying  bands  of  the  hardy  yeomen  of  the 
north  to  the  post  of  danger,  and  led  to  that  series  of  bril- 
liant achievements  which  terminated  in  the  entire  over- 
throw of  this  formidable  array  of  British  power. 

Scarcely  had  St.  Clair  succeeded,  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness, in  reaching  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  and  get- 
ting his  army  in  motion  for  the  interior,  before  an  active 
pursuit  was  commenced  by  General  Frazer,  with  a  large 
detachment  of  British  regulars,  followed  by  General 
Reidesel  with  most  of  the  Brunswick  forces.  The  Ameri- 
cans, however,  kept  some  miles  in  advance  of  the  enemy 
through  the  day ;  and  St.  Clair,  with  the  main  body  of 
his  troops,  pushed,  forward  that  night  as  far  as  Castleton, 
leaving  the  rear  guard  of  the  army,  consisting  of  about  a 
thousand  men  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Warrington 
ou  the  road  some  distance  behind,  where  he  encamped  at 
a  farmhouse  within  three  miles  of  the  place  which  was 
the  same  night  occupied  by  the  lawless  gang  of  Sherwood 
and  their  unfortunate  captives,  all  parties  being  equally 
ignorant  of  their  vicinity  to  each  other. 

With  this  glance  at  the  situation  of  our  army,  with 
whose  movements  were  more  or  less  closely  linked  the 
destinies  of  all  those  whose  individual  fortunes  we  have 
undertaken  to  follow,  we  will  now  go  on  with  our  tale, 
which  the  crowding  events  of  the  next  twenty-four  hours 
were  destined  to  bring  to  its  catastrophe.  And  leaving 
our  fair  and  persecuted  captive  in  the  happy  state  of  in- 
sensibility, in  which  we  last  described  her,  we  will  now 
follow  her  trusty  messenger  on  his  adventurous  way  to 
the  American  army,  which  both  he  and  his  mistress  sup- 
posed was  still  posted  at  Ticonderoga,  some  twenty 
miles  distant. 

Happily  succeeding  in  leaving  the  cabin  and  gaining  an 
adjoining  field,  undiscovered  by  the  guards,  Neshobee, 
after  stopping  a  moment  to  pitch  his  course,  plunged 
directly  into  the  tangled  and  dripping  wilderness  lying 
along  the  northern  borders  of  the  pond.  Pausing  at  every 
considerable  interval  of  darkness,  that  still  almost  im- 
penetrably shrouded  the  earth,  and  darting  forward  by 
the  views  which  the  fast  flashing  lightning  afforded,  ha 


312  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

threaded  the  difficult  mazes  of  the  forest  with  a  rapidity 
rarely  attainable  by  any  but  natives  of  the  wilds.  Pass- 
ing  round  the  western  extremity  of  the  pond,  and  bend- 
ing his  course  in  a  more  southerly  direction,  an  hour's 
travelling  brought  him  to  the  great  military  road  leading 
directly  to  the  lake.  The  storm  having  now  ceased,  he 
hastily  stripped  off  his  drenched  garments,  wrung  out 
the  water  to  enable  him  to  run  with  more  expedition, 
reinvested  himself,  and  again  set  off  at  along  trot  down 
the  road  towards  his  supposed  destination.  It  was  to  be 
his  fortune,  however,  to  travel  but  a  short  part  of  the 
distance  for  which  he  had  prepared  himself;  for,  after 
proceeding  about  a  mile  along  the  now  unobstructed  way 
witts  a  speed  to  which  his  feverish  anxiety  lent  wings,  he 
came  to  a  large  opening,  which  presented  the  unexpected 
appearance  of  numerous  dimly-burning  fires  scattered 
througli  an  extensive  field.  Stopping  short  at  a  spectacle 
so  unusual  under  the  present  circumstances,  the  cautious 
native  immediately  put  his  ear  to  the  earth,  and  listened 
long  and  intently.  A  low,  mingled  hum,  as  of  a.  hushed 
and  reposing  multitude,  rose  in  a  scarce  perceptible  mur- 
mur on  the  air;  and  soon  the  slight  jar  of  measured  foot- 
steps, resembling  the  distant  tread  of  slowly-pacing 
sentinels,  became  distinguishable  to  his  acute  senses.  No 
longer  doubting  the  presence  of  an  encamped  army  in  the 
opening,  but  wholly  ignorant  of  its  character,  he  cau- 
tiously crept  forward,  rising,  from  time  to  time,  to  discover, 
if  possible,  without  exposing  himself,  whether  it  was  a 
friendly  or  hostile  force,  which  he  had  thus  unexpectedly 
encountered.  Keeping  within  the  range  of  a  stump,  or 
some  object  by  the  roadside,  to  screen  his  approach,  he 
crawled  along  about  a  dozen  rods,  and  again  paused  for 
a  more  careful  observation.  The  clouds  were  now  rapidly 
breaking  away,  and  in  the  increasing  light,  he  was  soon 
enabled  to  trace  the  outlines  of  a  sentry,  standing  motion- 
less as  a  post  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  but  a  few  rods 
ahead.  While  he  thus  lay,  tasking  his  vision  to  discover 
something  in  the  dress,  arms,  or  appearance  of  the  man, 
from  which  the  fact  he  sought  to  know  might  be  inferred, 
the  waning  moon  shone  out  through  the  parting  clouds, 
and  disclosed  to  the  startled  Indian  the  British  uniform 
of  the  sentry,  and  at  the  same  time  the  numerous  tents 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  S13 

of  the  enemy  dotting  the  fields  in  the  distance  beyond. 
The  first  thought  of  Neshobee,  on  making  this  alarming 
discovery,  was  to  secure  a  retreat  from  this  danger- 
ous vicinity  to  the  sentinel,  though  he  was  wholly 
at  a  loss  what  course  he  should  now  take  to  find  those  to 
whom  he  had  been  despatched  for  succor.  But  his  doubts 
in  this  respect  were  set  at  rest  by  information  he  the  next 
moment  obtained  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  For, 
while  he  lay  anxiously  watching  a  cloud  that  was  nearing 
the  moon,  and  promised  in  a  few  moments  again  to 
obscure  her  light,  which  now  made  it  hazardous  for  him 
to  move  from  his  position,  a  soldier  approached  to  relieve 
the  one  on  guard. 

"  Well,  Tom,"  said  the  soldier  just  arrived,  "  you  have 
had  a  devil  of  a  drenching  this  bout,  haven't  you  ?  Why  1 
what !  has  the  man  turned  to  stone  ?  Say,  Tom,  why 
don't  you  answer  me?" 

"  O,  yes,  yes,"  replied  the  other,  arousing  himself  from 
his  stupor,  "  yes,  wet  enough— a  ghastly  time  I've  had  of 
it,  Jerry,  since  I've  been  out  here.  Hang  me,  if  I  haven't 
got  quite  enough  of  this  chasing  the  Yankees  into  the 
bush.  I  wish  'twas  over.  But  do  you  know  the  orders 
for  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  Why  to  chase  the  d n'd  rebels  till  we  take  them, 

be  sure.  Our  Captain  has  just  returned  from  General 
Frazer's  quarters,  and  he  says  they  have  a  sort  of  go- 
between,  by  the  name  of  Remington,  who  came  directly 
from  the  Yankee  camp,  and  brought  word  that  the  main 
body  of  the  rebels  have  got  about  ten  miles  ahead,  while 
a  regiment  or  two,  under  a  Colonel  Warrington,  are  en- 
camped  within  a  league  of  us  on  the  road.  And  the  plan 
is,  I  believe,  to  move  on,  at  daylight,  to  the  attack  of  the 
nearest  force.  And  if  the  main  body  return  to  the  rescue, 
whv,  we  have  General  Reidesel,  with  a  plenty  of  Hes- 
sians, a  few  miles  behind,  to  back  us ;  so  very  likely  we 
may  get  a  tolerable  bush-fight  of  it,  before  it  is  over, 
particularly  as  this  Warrington,  they  say,  is  a  fellow  of 
grit ;  and  his  men  are  mostly  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who 
have  more  of  the  regular-built  bull-dog  about  'em,  that; 
anything  the  Yankees  have  got  in  their  ragamuffin  army." 

"Well,  Jerry,"  replied  the  other,  in   accents  partak- 
ing somewhat" of  the  doleful,  "I  can't  exactly  tell  how 


814  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

'tis,  but  if  we  do  have  a  battle,  I  have  a  notion  I  shan't 
live  through  it." 

"  Why,  what  makes  you  think  so,  Tom?" 

"  O,  I  don't  know — I  feel  it  creeping-  over  me,  and  that 
ain't  all,  I  am  very  sartain — 'deed  I  could  swear  to  it — that 
£  saw  a  shape  out  there  in  the  road  yonder,  a  little  while 
ago,  that  rose  up  right  out  of  the  ground,  and  then  stood 
kind  r  quivering  a  minute,  and  vanished.  I  expect  it 
was  my  spirit,  Jerry." 

"  Pooh !  man,  your  liver  must  have  got  water-soaked 
here  in  the  rain,  to  make  you  down  in  the  mouth  about 
such  whimsies.  Here,  take  a  suck  at  my  canteen.  There ! 
now  back  to  your  tent,  your  pluck  will  be  up  by  morn- 
ing." 

Animated  by  the  cheering  intelligence  he  had  gathered 
from  the  conversation  above  detailed,  every  word  of  which 
had  reached  his  attentive  ears,  the  native  slowly  and 
noiselessly  withdrew  from  the  spot  in  the  now  favoring 
darkness,  till  fairly  beyond  the  sight  and  hearing  of  the 
guard  ;  when  he  began  rapidly  to  retrace  his  steps  along 
the  road  towards  the  American  encampment,  to  which  we 
will  now  repair  in  anticipation  of  his  arrival. 

It  was  a  calm  and  cloudless  morning  that  ushered  in 
the  day  so  long  remembered  in  Vermont  for  the  san- 
guinary conflict  of  Hubbardton,  which  proved  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  boastful  and  haughty  foe,  while  it  widely 
scattered  the  weeds  of  woe  throughout  her  infant  settle- 
ment* The  sun  had  just  burst  over  the  long  range  or 
eastern  mountains,  whose  broad,  empurpled   sides  lay 

•There  was  no  engagement  in  our  Revolution,  perhaps,  which 
exhibited  such  determined  energy  and  resolution  on  the  part  of 
the  Americans,  as  the  battle  of  Hubbardton  ;  and  yet  there  was 
no  one,  of  which  the  results  are  more  obscurely  or  incorrectly 
stated  by  our  leading  historians— most  of  them  making  our  loss 
from  200  to  300,  and  that  of  the  British  from  100  to  200.  But  if 
they  had  reversed  the  statement  they  would  not  even  then  have 
done  justice  to  our  gallant  troops.  Ethan  Allen,  in  his  narrative, 
says  :  "  Our  loss  was  about  30  killed,  and  that  of  the  enemy 
amounted  to  300  killed  including  a  Major  Grant.  The  enemy  s 
loss  I  learned  from  the  confession  of  their  own  officers  when  a 
prisoner  among  them.  I  heard  them  likewise  complain  that  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  took*  sight."'  After  a  diligent  inquiry  I 
am  satisfied  that  Colonel  Allen's  statement  is  substantially  a  cor- 
rect one. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  315 

tooming  in  the  distance,  and  a  thousand  sparkling 
exhalations  were  rising-  from  the  storm-beaten  encamp- 
ment of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Though  deeply  worn 
and  fatigued  by  the  forced  march  of  the  previous  day,  and 
drenched  to  the  skin  through  the  night,  yet  the  troops  were 
already  in  motion,  eagerly  engaged  in  preparing  them- 
selves for  whatever  emergency  might  follow,  and  while 
hastily  snatching  their  morning's  repast,  many  an  eye 
was  turned  anxiously  towards  the  quarters  of  their 
gallant  commander,  where  it  was  understood  a  council 
of  war  was  being  held,  to  determine  whether  to  continue 
their  flight  after  the  main  army  or  remain  to  give  battle 
to  the  pursuing  enemy.  At  length  the  officers  were  seen 
emerging  from  the  quarters  in  question,  and  with  quick- 
ened steps  returning  to  their  respective  corps,  while  the 
increased  activity  which  succeeded  throughout  the  camp 
indicated  the  importance  of  the  result  now  communi- 
cated. 

"  Well,  Captain  Selden,"  said  Warrington,  as  rousing- 
himself  from  the  reverie  into  which  he  had  fallen  after 
the  council  had  broken  up,  he  looked  around  and  ob- 
served that  his  confidential  friend  now  remained  with  him 
in  the  apartment,  "-what  do  you  think  of  the  argument 
of  Hale,  and  those  who  so  strenuously  opposed  our  prop- 
osition of  making  a  stand  against  the  enemy  ?  " 

"  Quite  as  well  of  their  arguments  as  their  patriotism, 
Colonel,"  promptly  answered  the  person  addressed. 
"  Shakespeare  never  better  evinced  his  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart  than  when  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  one  of 
his  secretly  craven  boasters  the  salvo  argument  that 
'  discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor.'  " 

"  The  inference  is  a  sharp  one,  Captain,  but  I  fear  me, 
too  well  deserved.  There  was  one  thing,  however,  which 
gratified  me  :  not  a  single  officer  from  the  Green  Moun- 
tains opposed  the  proposition.  And  it  is  so  with  the 
troops  of  my  regiment.  I  was  out  among  them  this  morn- 
ing by  daylight  to  gather  their  feelings  on  this  subject  : 
and,  though  the  poor  fellows  were  wet,  weary,  and  war- 
worn, I  found  our  Green  Mountain  Boys  universally 
burning  for  the  encounter." 

"  There  is  no  doubt  of  it.  But  after  all,  Colonel,  I  fear 
these  preachers  of  prudence  were  prophesying  by  instinct, 


316  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

when  they  told  us  we  had  a  bloody  day's  work  before  us. 
The  force  we  are  sure  to  encounter  is,  perhaps,  more  than 
double  our  own  ;  and  we  know  not  how  many  more  are 
on  their  way  to  reinforce  them." 

"I  am  aware  of  all  this.  But  as  soldiers  can  we 
longer  endure  the  thought  of  being  driven  before  the 
foe? — as  citizens  and  settlers  of  these  our  mountain 
homes,  can  we  see  the  enemy  marching  into  the  heart  of 
our  country,  and  strike  no  blow  for  its  protection  ?  As 
little  as  the  people  expected  our  evacuation  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  much  less  will  they  expect  us  to  continue  a  flight 
which  will  soon  leave  the  whole  settlement  exposed  to  the 
ravages  of  the  merciless  minions  of  Burgoyne.  With  my 
own  regiment  alone,  I  can  make  a  successful  stand  against 
the  force  which  immediately  menaces  us  with  an  attack; 
and  if  more  arrive,  the  reinforcements  which  St.  Clair 
will  surely  send  us,  when  our  express  shall  reach  him, 
will  be  in  season  for  the  rescue." 

"  General  St.  Clair  may  send  us  a  reinforcement,  but — " 

"  May  ?  he  must !  And  if  he  does,  and  will  send  another 
force  around  into  the  rear  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat, 
they  are  all  ours  before  sunset.  Think  you  Ethan  Allen 
would  be  found  longer  skulking  before  the  foe,  or,  if  in 
St.  Clair's  command,  would  suffer  a  man  of  them  to  return 
to  the  lake  alive,  or  uncaptured  ?  " 

"Never!  but  Ethan  Allen  is  not  our  general.  And  the 
man  who  suffered  the  enemy  to  get  possession  of  every 
commanding  post  round  Ticonderoga  till  we  had  good  rea» 
son  to  evacuate,  may  still,  like  some  of  his  humble  imita- 
tors in  our  council  just  now,  think  it  prudent  to  take  care 
of  himself,  and  leave  us  to  do  the  same." 

At  this  moment  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  entered  the 
door. 

"  Colonel,"  said  he,  "  we  have  taken  a  prisoner  this 
morning,  who  came  from  the  direction  of  the  enemy ;  and 
though  he  professes  fair,  and  pretends  business  with  you, 
yet,  having  no  pass,  or  papers  of  any  kind,  and  refusing  to 
give  any  further  account  of  himself,  we  have  kept  him 
under  guard,  till  we  thought  you  might  have  leisure  to 
examine  him." 

"  What  is  he, — a  British  soldier  ?  " 

«No — an  Indian,  or  part  Indian,  I  should  think." 


THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  317 

"  Bring  hiin  here,  instantly,"  said  Warrington,  with  an 
expression  of  interest. 

The  sergeant  accordingly  left  the  apartment,  and  in  a 
few  moments  returned  with  Neshobee  by  his  side,  when, 
upon  an  intimation  from  his  superior,  he  withdrew,  leav- 
ing his  prisoner  and  the  two  officers  by  themselves. 

"Neshobee,  my  good  fellow,"  exclaimed  Warrington, 
advancing  to  the  native,  and  shaking  him  cordially  by  the 
hand,  "  I  hope  they  have  not  misused  you  ;  but  how  came 
you  here  ?" 

"  Me  come  for  purpose  find  you.     Missus  Alma " 

"  Alma  Hendee !  where  is  she '? "  eagerly  interrupted  the 
Colonel. 

The  Indian  then  related  to  his  astonished  auditors,  in 
his  peculiar  manner,  the  particulars  of  the  capture  of  the 
Hendee  family,  and  all  of  the  subsequent  occurrences 
which  had  come  to  his  knowledge  till  he  reached  the 
American  encampment. 

"Execrable  villain!"  exclaimed  Warrington,  with  un- 
usual bitterness,  after  a  few  questions  and  answers  respect- 
ing the  number  and  equipment  of  Sherwood's  gang  had 
been  rapidly  exchanged  between  the  excited  officers  and 
the  native,  "execrable  villain!  but  his  triumph  shall  be  a 
short  one ! '" 

"  God  grant  it ! "  responded  Selden  with  the  same  spirit, 
"  but  what  do  you  propose,  Colonel  ?  " 

"  To  proceed  instantly  to  their  camp,  storm  it,  and  res- 
cue the  captives  within  this  hour — if  possible,  within  this 
very  hour ! " 

"And  you  are  willing  to  risk,  even  at  this  emergency, 
the  absence  of  men  enough  to  accomplish  it?" 

"  I  must, — as  much  as  you  may  need  them,  I  must  risk 
it.  And  would  to  God  that  my  duties  would  permit  me 
to  head  them  against  this  farrago  of  fiends  incarnate. 
Will  you  perform  the  service,  Captain  Selden?" 

"  Most  joyfully." 

"Go  then.  Take  your  company,  including  Jones  and 
as  many  of  hi?  *couts  as  you  think  best.  If  you  succeed, 
furnish  the  family  with  an  escort  to  a  place  of  safety,  or 
bring  them  to  Ihe  rear  of  the  army,  as  circumstances  shall 
dictate. — Stay,  Selden,  a  moment,"  he  continued  approach- 
ing the  side  of  the  spirited  and  impatient  young  officer, 


31S  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

and  speaking  in  a  low,  confidential  tone,  "I  am  well  awar§ 
that  this  may  be  a  day  of  danger — of  death  to  many  of  us — 
Tell  that  lovely  girl  her  frank  and  noble  explanation  has 
been  received  and  appreciated — that  my  heart  has  ever 
been,  and  is  now  doubly  hers — that,  if  I  survive,  I  will 
soon  be  by  her  side,  and  if  I  fall,  my  last  thoughts  will  be 
upon  her." 

At  that  instant  the  quickly  successive  reports  of  a  dozen 
muskets  in  the  direction  of  the  expected  enemy  broke  the 
stillness  of  the  morning,  announcing  a  collision  between 
the  opposing  outposts,  and  the  battle  at  hand. 

"To  arms!"  exclaimed  the  commander,  rushing  out 
into  the  open  air,  and  leaping  upon  his  charger  that, 
caparisoned  and  ready  for  his  gallant  rider,  stood  impa- 
tiently pawing  the  ground  at  the  door,  "  to  arms,  instantly 
to  arms !  '* 

As  the  loud  and  thrilling  tones  of  the  well-known  voice 
of  their  idolized  leader  rung  through  the  camp,  falling 
upon  the  ears  of  the  aroused  and  excited  troops,  every  man 
sprang  for  his  musket,  and  the  busy  quiet,  that  one  mo- 
ment before  had  reigned  through  the  tented  lines,  was  at 
once  changed  into  the  noisy  din  of  preparation.  Captain 
Selden,  in  accordance  with  the  arrangement  just  settled 
between  him  and  his  superior,  hastily  formed  his  com- 
pany, briefly  informed  his  men  of  the  object  of  their  pro- 
posed expedition,  and,  amidst  the  clangor  of  rattling  steel 
and  rolling  drums,  mingled  with  the  stern  brief  words  of 
command,  filed  off  rapidly  across  the  field  towards  the 
northern  forest  and  with  Neshobee  as  guide  soon  disap* 
peared  within  its  borders. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  captured.  The  first  object 
that  saluted  the  eyes  of  our  hapless  heroine,  on  recover 
ing  her  consciousness,  was  the  dimly-seen  figure  of  Sher 
wood  standing  in  the  doorway,  in  the  attitude  of  one 
whose  attention  on  entering  had  been  suddenly  arrested 
by  some  unexpected  sight  or  sound  behind  him.  The 
next  instant  a  man  on  horseback  came  dashing  up  furi- 
ously to  the  spot.  Hastily  closing  the  door  behind  him, 
Sherwood  immediately  advanced  to  the  side  of  the  halted 
horseman,  when  the  following  dialogue  distinctly  reached 
the  ears  of  the  eager  listener  within. 

"Captain  Sherwood — ain't  W 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  319 

"Yes — Remington,  I  believe  from  the  voice? — weii, 
what  news  : " 

"  Important — great — glorious  ! " 

"Aha,  what  is  it?" 

"The  rebels  have  evacuated  Ti.l** 

"The  devil!  and  all  escaped?" 

"  Every  scoundrel  of  them;  but  their  race  is  nearly  up. 

«  Why  ?     How  ?    Where  are  they  ?  " 

"  St.  Clair  with  the  bulk  of  them  made  shift  to  push 
on  to  Castleton  by  dark, — Warrington  with  a  regiment 
or  two,  now  lies  encamped  at  Seleck's  farm  right  against 
us  ov  er  on  the  military  road.  General  Frazer,  who  followed 
hard  on  their  tracks  through  the  day,  lies  at  Lacy's  Camp, 
with  his  brigade;  and  Red  Hazle  and  his  Jarmans  are  but 
a  few  miles  behind." 

"  And  what  is  Frazer's  plan  ?  " 

"  To  move  upon  Warrington  at  daylight ;  and  he  told 
me  to  tell  you  to  be  on  hand  when  the  attack  is  made, — 
flank  the  rebels  in  the  woods,  and  keep  on  ahead  of  them 
to  cut  off  their  retreat.  But  the  order  needn't  interfere 
with  your  business  here,"  added  the  traitor,  with  a  know- 
ing chuckle,  pointing  towards  the  house  with  one  hand 
and  giving  his  master  a  significant  nudge  with  the  other: 
—"There's  no  need  of  your  marching  before  break  of  day ; 
so  you  see  you'll  have  time  to "  , 

"  Hush !  speak  lower,  you  prying  devil, — she'll  hear  you.' 

"  Well,  well ;  but  what  is  to  be  my  share  for  this  night's 
job?  " 

"  British  gold, — Burgoyne  will  see  to  that/* 

"  Yes,  I  know  that ;  but  I  mean  what  share  of  the  same 
kind  of  coin  that  you  are  about  to  make  free  with? — \ou 
understand  me,  hey?" 

«  That's  asking  more  than  you  have  any  right  to  expect, 
Remington." 

«  The  hell  it  is  !  I  know  there  is  game  to  be  had,  and  if 
I  can't  have  my  share  when  my  betters  are  helping  them- 
selves, I'll  know  the  reason  why,  by — — " 

"Yes,  but  don't  get  in  a  passion  about  it.  Something  of 
the  kind  may  be  effected  for  you  perhaps.  The  Scotch  girl 
is  promised  to  Darrow ;  but  there  are  two  maids.  It  can 
be  managed,  possibly " 

"To-night?" 


320  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Why, — why,  not  very  conveniently — if  you  will  delay 

till  to-morrow  night but  hush!  hush!    <vho  is  that? — 

who  is  that  coming-  in  such  haste?" — hurriedly  exclaimed 
Sherwood,  as  startled  by  the  sound  of  rapidly  approach, 
ing  footsteps,  he  looked  round  and  distinguished  the 
figure  of  some  one  hastily  making  hi©  way  towards  them. 

"It  is  the  lieutenant's  gait,"  observed  Remington, 
whose  situation  on  his  horse  enabled  him  best  to  deter- 
mine the  point  in  question.  "  And  it  is  Darrow,  too, 
ain't  it?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  the  chap,"  responded  the  ruffian  striding 
&j)  to  the  spot.  "  Where  is  the  Captain  ? — O  here  !  Jake, 
the  devil  is  to  pay  !  " 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  eagerly  asked  Sherwood. 

"  Why  it  may  be  matter  enough  for  us  soon,  if  what 
Remington  here  says  about  the  rebels  being  so  near  us,  is 
true — Hendee's  cursed  Indian  has  escaped  ] " 

«  Hell  and  furies  !     Bill,  who  suffered  that  ?" 

"  The  lubberly  curse  that  you  sent  to  guard  the  red 
scamp  in  the  corner  of  the  barn  got  asleep,  I  s'pose  ;  and 
the  confusion  and  crowding  caused  by  the  storm  prevent- 
ed any  one  else  from  seeing  to  it." 

"How  long  has  he  been  gone?" 

"  These  two  hours,  for  aught  I  can  ascertain." 

"  Did  you  see  anything  that  could  be  taken  for  the  imp 
on  your  route,  Remington  ?  " 

"  No,  Captain.  As  soon  as  I  found  that  the  rebels  wer« 
on  the  road,  I  rode  several  miles  round  in  by-roads  to 
reach  the  British  camp." 

"  Well,  Darrow,  we  must  move,"  said  Sherwood,  after 
musing  a  moment;  "I  know  that  fellow  well.  He  will 
know  what  to  do  without  being  told,  and  will  be  as 
cunning  as  Satan  in  bringing  it  about.  In  beating  about 
'or  help  to  rescue  the  family,  he  will  learn  Warrington's 
position,  which  ten  to  one  he  has  reached  before  this. 
You,  as  well  as  I,  can  guess  what  will  come  next.  With- 
in an  hour,  a  hundred  of  Warrington's  bull-dogs  may  be 
upon  us,  with  ambuscades  in  every  direction  around  us. 
We  must  march,  and  that  instantly.  Our  private  plans, 
Bill,  must  be  deferred  till  another  night.  And,  by  that 
time,  I  am  thinking,  there  won't  be  enough  left  of  the 
aamnea  scoundrel,  or  his  men.  to  trouble  us.    We  wiU 


TEE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  321 

take  to  the  hill  on  the  south  end  of  the  pond  yonder 
The  moon  is  coming  out ;  and  this  breeze  will  shake  the 
water  from  the  trees,  so  that  we  can  make  our  way  com- 
fortably. Go  forward,  Darrow,  and  be  mustering  the 
men.  Remington,  let  me  mount  that  horse,  till  we  enter 
the  woods.  Guards!  ho!  you  may  close  up  round  the 
house  now,  and  in  a  few  moments  we  will  relieve  you  of 
your  charge." 

If  ever  an  offering  of  unfeigned,  unmingled  gratitude 
ascended  to  Heaven  from  the  lips  of  mortals  for  boon 
bestowed,  it  was  that  of  Alma  Hendee,  as  on  bended 
knees  she  poured  out  the  incense  of  her  gushing  and 
grateful  heart  to  her  divine  Preserver  for  this  temporary 
deliverance  from  the  perils  that  so  nearly  threatened  her. 
She  had  scarcely  risen  from  her  devotions,  when  a  mes- 
senger from  Sherwood's  quarters  entered,  and  summoned 
her  to  attend  him  to  the  other  cabin.  She  obeyed  with 
cheerful  alacrity  and,  in  a  few  moments  more,  was  in  the 
silent  embrace  of  her  friends,  receiving  the  low  murmured 
caresses  and  blessings  of  her  overjoyed  father,  on  whose 
bosom  she  lay  sobbing  till  interrupted  by  the  stern, 
harsh  voice  of  Darrow  at  the  door,  commanding  them  all 
to  come  forth,  to  be  taken  with  the  band  in  the  move- 
ment which  had  been  so  hastily  concerted  by  the  alarmed 
leaders. 

On  emerging  from  the  house  the  prisoners  found  the 
entire  band  of  their  captors  drawn  up  in  the  yard,  wait- 
ing only  to  receive  them  before  commencing  the  contem- 
plated march.  And,  after  the  former  had  been  ordered  to 
take  their  places  near  the  centre  of  the  line,  separated  from 
each  other  by  the  alternate  intermingling  of  guards  as  on 
the  afternoon's  march,  the  whole  moved  silently  forward 
across  the  pasture  in  the  direction  previously  mentioned 
by  their  leader.  When  they  arrived  at  the  outskirts  of 
the  clearing,  Sherwood  relinquished  the  horse,  upon 
which  he  had  thus  far  superintended  the  march,  to  Rem- 
ington, and,  after  sending  off  the  latter  on  some  secret 
destination,  took  his  station  at  the  head  of  the  forces, 
and  plunged  directly  into  the  forest.  After  many  wind- 
ings through  the  pathless  and  still  dripping  woods,  for 
the  purpose  of  confusing  or  misleading  their  enemies 
in    any  attempts  which  might  be  made   to  follow  thfc 

31 


322  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

trail,  they  bore  down  upon  the  pond,  and  soon  struck 
into  an  old  Indian  path  running  along  the  margin  of  tha 
water  towards  the  south.  In  this  they  slowly  pursued 
their  dark,  and  often  difficult  way,  till  daylight ;  when 
arriving  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  pond,  and  being 
here,  as  they  believed,  out  of  the  reach  of  any  immediate 
danger  from  pursuit,  they  withdrew  a  short  distance 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  water,  and  halted  to  wait  the 
operations  of  the  hostile  armies,  being  now  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  clearing  in  which  the  action  was 
expected  to  take  place. 

After  scouts  had  been  despatched  to  watch  the  move- 
ments of  Warrington's  forces,  and  some  time  spent  in 
inspecting  their  arms,  and  preparing  them  for  instant 
service,  the  band,  at  the  intimation  of  their  leaders,  pro- 
ceeded to  partake  of  a  hasty  repast,  consisting  mostly  of 
bread  and  dried  meats,  which  each  produced  from  his 
own  knapsack,  with  the  exception  of  the  officers  and 
captives,  for  the  supplying  of  whom  one  of  Captain 
Hendee's  horses,  loaded  with  provisions  and  tent-cloths, 
had  followed  in  the  rear.  A  scanty  portion  of  this  kind  of 
food,  with  a  gourd-shell  of  water,  was, after  awhile,  sent 
to  the  faint  and  wearied  prisoners  by  'Sherwood,  who 
seemed  studiously  to  avoid  coming  himself  into  their 
immediate  presence.  The  meal  was  partaken  by  the 
captives  in  gloomy  silence,  which,  except  here  and  there 
in  the  ribald  jest  of  a  Tory,  or  the  low  guttural  grunt  of 
a  savage,  wasimitated  by  the  mongrel  gang  of  ferocious 
and  brutal-looking  fellows  around  them. 

Scarcely  had  they  finished  their  homely  repast,  when 
a  rattling  peal  of  distant  musketry,  followed  by  the  sound 
of  rolling  drums  furiously  beating  to  arms,  came  boom- 
ing through  the  forest,  awakening  the  echoes  of  hill  and 
dell  for  miles  around,  and  startling  both  cap+ives  and 
aptors  by  the  sound,  now  well  understood  by  all  as  the 
herald  of  the  approaching  conflict. 

"  To  the  hills !  forward  to  a  station  on  the  hills ! " 
loudly  shouted  Sherwood,  now  for  the  first  timeopenly 
exercising  the  command  in  the  presence  of  the  prisoners. 

Hastily  forming  a  line  of  march,  Sherwood,  with  quick 
and  eager  steps,  led  his  men  up  the  ragged  steeps  to- 
wards his  proposed  station^  leaving  the  brutal  Darrow, 


IFxE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  32S 

who  had  charge  of  the  rear,  in  which  the  captives  were 
now  placed,  to  goad  on  the  infirm  old  captain,  and  the 
tender  and  already  exhausted  females,  to  keep  pace 
with  the  rest.  After  a  rapid  and  fatiguing  march  of  half 
an  hour,  at  almost  every  step  of  which  the  forest  around 
them  was  resounding  to  the  roar  of  thickening  conflict 
on  the  plains  to  the  right,  they  reached  the  summit  of  a 
wood-covered  hill,  which  overlooked  the  extensive  open- 
ing  to  the  west,  now  occupied  as  the  scene  of  action  by 
the  contending  armies.  Immediately  detaching  about  a 
dozen  of  his  most  trusty  Tories  with  Darrow  at  then 
head  to  guard  the  prisoners,  Sherwood,  with  the  remainder 
of  his  force,  proceeded  some  forty  or  fifty  rods  down  the 
hill,  and  took  his  station  in  the  bushes  bordering  the 
opening,  to  wait  a  favorable  opportunity  to  co-operate 
with  his  British  friends.  The  guard,  on  the  departure 
of  Sherwood,  wishing  to  take  a  stand  themselves  where 
they  could  witness  the  battle,  ordered  the  captives  for- 
ward to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  permitted  them  to  take 
seats  upon  the  edge  of  a  cliff  which  afforded  them,  through 
the  openings  of  the  overhanging  foliage,  a  distinct  view 
of  the  field  of  conflict.  A  grand  and  thrilling  spectacle 
now  burst  upon  their  view.  At  the  distance  of  less  than 
a  mile,  in  the  broad  field  beneath  them,  stood  the  plain 
and  hardy  sons  of  liberty,  unflinchingly  engaged  face  to 
face,  and  often  arm  to  arm,  in  deadly  strife  with  the 
gorgeous  and  disciplined  bands  of  their  outnumbering 
foes, — the  fluttering  standards  and  glittering  arms  of 
wheeling  squadrons  now  flashing  in  the  morning  sun,  and 
now  enveloped  in  clouds  of  eddying  smoke,  as  the  fires 
of  a  thousand  death-tubes  blazed  fiercely  along  the  oppos- 
ing lines ;  while  hill  and  forest  around  seemed  rocking 
responsive  to  the  deafening  thunders  of  the  embattled 
plain.  With  an  interest  equally  intense,  but  with  emo- 
tions widely  different,  was  the  scene  witnessed  by  the 
little  group  of  captives;  for  while  Alma  and  Jessy  gazed 
in  silent  awe  upon  the  fearful  spectacle,  trembling  and 
amazed  at  the  tremendous  din  that  rose  from  the  spot, 
and  with  bosoms  painfully  beating  with  secret  anxiety 
for  the  fate  of  their  betrothed  lovers,  engaged,  as  they 
believed,  in  the  hottest  of  the  strife,  and  exposed  every 
instant  to  the  missiles  of  death,  or  already  weltering  in 


824  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

their  gore  among  the  dying  and  dead, — while,  with  such 
agitating  emotions  gazed  they  upon  the  scene,  Captait 
Hendee  watched  the  progress  of  the  contest  with  the  ex« 
perienced  eye  of  a  soldier,  and  with  a  view  to  its  general 
results.  For  nearly  an  hour  the  battle  raged  with  un- 
mitigated  fury.  Alternately  driving  and  driven,  the  con- 
tending foes,  without  any  permanent  advantage  to  either, 
fiercely  disputed  for  the  mastery  of  the  field,  while  volley 
after  volley,  bursting  in  rapid  succession  along  the  serried 
lines  of  the  opposing  fronts  continued  to  sweep  the  plain 
with  the  leaden  tempest,  covering  it  with  heaps  of  the 
dying  and  the  dead.  At  length  there  was  a  momentary 
lull  in  the  din  of  battle.  Even  the  "  stormy  music  "  of  the 
shriek-drowning  drum  for  an  instant  ceased  to  send  up  its 
monotonous  roar  from  the  field  of  conflict.  And  all  beneath 
the  broad  and  veiling  cloud  of  smoke  that  hung  over  the 
spot,  at  first  seemed  as  silent  as  if  that  cloud  had  been 
a  pall  for  an  army  of  the  dead.  The  next  moment,  how- 
ever, a  sound  reached  the  quick  ears  of  the  female  cap- 
tives, more  fearful  than  the  thunders  of  battle. 

"  List !  what  is  that  ? "  asked  the  girls,  with  a  simul- 
taneous exclamation,  and  looks  of  horror;  as  the  piercing 
and  mingled  wail  of  many  voices  came  wafting  on  the 
breeze  with  awful  distinctness  to  the  ear.  "Oh,  father, 
what  dreadful  sound  is  that?"  repeated  Alma,  with  a 
shudder. 

The  old  gentleman,  whose  less  acute  organs  had  not 
been  affected  by  the  sound,  without  replying,  turned  an 
ear  towards  the  fatal  field.  The  same  hideous,  though 
low  and  distance- mellowed  screech,  came  up  again  from 
the  spot  with  the  succeeding  undulation  of  the  fitful 
breeze,  but  was  the  next  instant  lost  in  a  fresh  burst  of 
martial  music,  which  once  more  sent  its  swelling  roar 
over  the  surrounding  hills. 

"  It  is  the  cries  of  the  wounded ! "  said  the  Captain, 
turning  to  his  unheeding  auditors,  for  they  sat  with  their 
hands  tightly  pressed  upon  their  ears  to  exclude  the 
abhorrent  sound.  "  But  it  is  over — it  is  over  now,"  he 
continued,  motioning  them  to  withdraw  their  hands. 

Understanding  the  gesture  rather  than  the  words,  the 
girls  hesitatingly  unstopped  their  ears,  and  turned  & 
mute  and  startled  look  of  inquiry  upon  the  Captain. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  825 

"  It  was  the  groans  of  the  wounded,"  resumed  the  Cap. 
tain.  "  It  is,  indeed,  a  dreadful  sound  to  one  not  inured 
to  the  horrors  of  war.  The  first  time  I  ever  heard  it,  I 
well  remember,  it  made  my  hair  rise  upright  on  my  head, 
and  filled  me  with  more  terror  and  dread  than  the  bullets 
of  the  enemy.  But  it  does  not  often  occur,  and  should 
never,  as  it  disheartens  the  men ;  yet  it  will  sometimes 
happen,  when  some  sudden  change  in  the  order  of  battle 
is  taking  place  on  both  sides  at  the  same  moment." 

"  And  do  you  suspect  any  important  change  is  about 
to  take  place  in  the  present  battle,  father?"  anxiously 
inquired  Alma. 

"  I  do,  child.  I  can  perceive  there  is  a  movement  going 
on  among  our  troops.  There!  do  you  see  that  officer 
dashing  at  full  speed  along  the  lines,  as  he  occasionally 
appears  in  the  openings  of  the  1  if  ting  smoke  ?  He  is  rally- 
ing and  forming  for  a  fresh  onset,  and  is  probably  the 
chief  in  command,  who  you  understood  was  to  be " 

"It  is!  it  is  he!"  exclaimed  Alma,  with  trembling 
eagerness.  "  Yes,  it  is  he,  and  yet  spared,  thank  Heaven !  " 
she  added,  checking  herself,  and  sinking  her  voice  into 
an  almost  inaudible  whisper,  "but  oh!  the  perils  which 
the  next  moment  may  surround  him  !  "  and  she  buried 
her  face  in  her  hands  to  conceal  her  emotion. 

"  Well,  whether  Warrington  or  another,"  observed  the 
Captain,  "  the  officer  in  command  there  is  winning  glory 
for  himself  and  his  country.  I  have  never  seen  a  defence 
against  a  superior  force  conducted  with  more  ability  than 
he  has  displayed,  nor  a  field  disputed  with  more  deter- 
mined intrepidity  than  this  by  the  men  under  him ;  at 
least  by  all  those  who  have  yet  engaged.  But  there  is 
one  battalion  standing  aloof  by  the  copse,  yonder,  whose 
movements  I  neither  understand  nor  like.  I  wonder  who 
they  are?" 

"  That  is  Colonel  Hale's  regiment,"  said  a  voice  from 
the  rear.  "We  have  no  great  fears  of  him,  or  his  men; 
but  them  dare-devils  in  the  thickest  of  it,  there,  are  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  and  I'll  own — but  they've  got  to  knuckle 
soon,  for  Red  Hazle  can't  now  be  more  than  a  mile  or  so 
off,  and  then " 

The  Captain  turned  his  head,  and  beheld  in  the  speaker 
the  traitor  Remington*  who  had  arrived  unperceived,  and 


396  TEE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

now  stood  unblushingly,  and  with  a  malicious  and  ex- 
ulting leer,  looking  him  in  the  face.  The  double-faced 
villain,  however,  was  met  by  the  old  veteran  with  such  a 
withering  look  of  scorn  and  contempt,  as  caused  him  to 
pause  in  his  remarks,  and  soon  to  slink  away  behind  the 
guards. 

Muttering  a  few  deep  and  bitter  curses  upon  the  object 
of  his  aversion,  on  whom  he  looked  as  the  despicable 
instrument  of  his  present  misfortunes,  Captain  Hendee 
again  turned  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  battle. 

"  Keep  your  eyes  on  the  field,  girls,"  said  the  old  gen= 
tleman,  after  closely  scanning  the  appearance  of  the  bel- 
ligerent forces  a  moment.  "  They  are  evidently  on  the 
eve  of  some  important  evolution.  There!  see  there! 
there  goes  the  fire  of  our  whole  line  upon  them  in  a  single 
blaze!  Ah!  that  fire  must  have  told  dreadfully  on  the 
enemy  !"  he  continued,  with  an  exulting  air,  while  wait- 
ing for  the  dispersion  of  the  smoke,  that,  curling  its  wavy 
folds  over  the  American  lines,  at  this  terrible  volley,  con- 
cealed for  an  instant  both  them  and  their  foes  completely 
from  view.  "  Yes,  dreadfully,  as  they  acknowleclge,  by 
not  returning  the  fire.  There,  you  can  just  see  their 
scarlet  lines  now, — and  in  confusion  !— staggering  and 
recoiling  in  confusion,  as  I  live!  And,  by  Jupiter!  see! 
how  like  lightning  the  black  masses  of  the  Continentals 
are  throwing  themselves  into  columns!  They  charge! 
they  charge !  Heavens,  what  a  clash  of  encountering  steel 
— but  no  wavering  in  the  charging  column  yet!  On  they 
move  I  And,  by  the  Lord  of  Heavens !  the  red-coats  give 
way  before  them !  They  reel — break,  and  run, — yes,  see ! 
see !  the  poor  beaten  devils  are  fairly  taking  to  their  heels ! 
ha!  na!  Hurrah  for  the  Green  Mountain  Boys !  ha!  ha! 
ha !  ha ! "  And  the  excited  old  veteran,  breaking  the 
restraint  which  his  situation,  as  a  closely  guarded  prisoner, 
had  imposed,  leaped  up,  and  clapped  his  hands  in  gleefui 
exultation. 

"  Stop  that  d- n'd  old  fool's  gab !  "  shouted  the  nettled 

and  chafing  Darrow,  who,  having  taken  a  separate  station 
in  the  bushes,  some  rods  distant,  stood  deeply  absorbed 
in  the  movements  of  the  field,  when  the  old  gentleman's 
exclamations  reached  his  ears :  "  stop  his  gab,  I  say !  01 
spit  him  on  your  bayonet,  and  hurl  him  over  the  cliff. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  32? 

Hell :  Here,  let  me  come — I  may  as  well  have  my  re 
venge  now  as  ever !  " 

As  with  angry  growls  Darrow  was  hastening  through 
the  bushes  to  the  spot,  the  nearest  guard  brought  down 
his  piece,  and  drew  back  for  a  thrust  at  the  Captain  with 
his  bayonet ;  but  in  the  act,  lie  suddenly  started,  dropped 
his  musket,  gave  a  convulsive  screech,  sallied  back,  and 
was  on  his  way  to  the  earth,  when  the  sharp  and  stunning 
report  of  a  dozen  rifles,  from  the  back  of  the  hill,  burst 
upon  the  ears  of  the  startled  captives,  and  their  no  less 
astonished  captors,  who,  in  their  eagerness  to  see  the 
action,  had  neglected  to  keep  watch  against  a  surprise 
from  pursuing  enemies  from  the  woods. 

"  There  !  take  that,  damn  you  ! "  exclaimed  Darrow,  as, 
more  intent  on  accomplishing  his  meditated  revenge  than 
attempting  a  defence,  he  sprang  forward,  the  instant  he 
perceived  himself  attacked,  within  a  rod  of  the  captives, 
discharged  his  pistol  at  Captain  Hendee,  and,  without 
waiting  to  see  the  effect  of  his  shot,  which  his  eager  haste 
had  luckily  rendered  a  vain  one,  jumped  off  the  cliff,  and, 
venturously  leaping  from  shelf  to  shelf  down  the  preci- 
pice, disappeared  in  the  direction  of  Sherwood's  station 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 

The  surviving  Tories,  for  four  of  them  had  been 
stretched  lifeless  upon  the  earth  by  the  shot  of  their  assail- 
ants, discharged  their  gunsat  random  toward  the  covert  of 
their  yet  unseen  foes,  and  fled  along  the  cliff  to  the  south, 
to  gain  the  gorge  where  Sherwood  and  his  party  had  de- 
scended. But  they  were  a  moment  too  late  to  effect  their 
object.  The  movement  having  been  perceived  by  Seidell's 
party,  for,  as  the  reader  has  doubtless  already  anticipated, 
the  assailants  were  no  other — they  suddenly  closed  up 
that  end  of  their  line,  and  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  fugi- 
tives, who,  quickly  tacking  about,  commenced  their  flight 
back  towards  the  captives,  with  the  view  of  escaping 
along  the  ledge  to  the  north  of  them. 

"Aha!  ye  scampering  satans,  you  can't  go  that  this 
time!"  exclaimed  the  sharp  and  rattling  voice  of  Pete 
Jones,  who,  with  a  dozen  sturdy  fellows  at  his  heels,  at 
that  instmnt  burst  through  the  bushes,  and  came  down 
like  a  whirlwind  upon  the  baffled  Tories,  in  time  to  pre- 
vent them  from  gaining  the  thicket  in  the  rear  of  the 


328  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

captives — "  spread  out,  there,  boys,  and  be  ready  to  give 
'em  the  lead  at  the  word,"  continued  the  scout,  motion- 
ing to  his  men,  who,  promptly  complying,  cocked  their 
rifles,  and  throwing  themselves  into  a  half-circle,  con- 
tinued with  hasty  steps  to  advance  upon  the  affrighted 
wretches,  now  standing  huddled  together  on  the  brink  of 
the  precipice,  and  looking  wildly  around  them  for  some 
chance  to  escape. 

"  Xow,  ye  painted  devils,"  resumed  Jones,  still  drawing 
up  with  levelled  rifle,  "now  you  have  got  to  jump,  or 
take  it." 

Misunderstanding  the  real  intentions  of  the  scout, 
which  were  to  frighten,  and  then  give  quarters,  and  ex- 
pecting to  be  shot  down  the  next  instant,  the  Tories 
threw  down  their  guns,  and  with  one  consent,  plunged 
madly  from  the  cliff! 

"Blood  and  bayonets  !  who  would  have  thought  that?" 
exclaimed  the  woodsman,  in  tones  of  mingled  horror  and 
surprise,  as  he  stepped  up  and  peered  over  the  brink, 
from  which,  down  a  broken,  but  nearly  perpendicular 
descent  of  over  an  hundred  feet,  this  desperate  leap  had 
been  taken.  "  Xow  I'll  be  blamed,  if  it  don't  make  me 
feel  ugly.  Only  see  'em  there!"  he  continued,  gazing 
down  upon  the  mangled  wretches  at  the  foot  of  the  preci- 
pice, with  an  expression  of  the  deepest  commiseration, 
"only  see!  three  or  four  lay  there  in  a  heap,  panting  and 
quivering  at  the  last  gasp !  And  there's  the  rest,  just 
crawling  off  into  the  bushes  like  snakes  with  their  backs 
broke !  Howsomever,"  he  added,  turning  away  with  an 
effort  to  shake  off  the  feeling,  "  we  can't  very  well  afford 
the  poor  devils  a  great  deal  of  lament,  for  the  same  sarce 
would  have  been  ours,  if  we'd  fell  into  the  hands  of  their 
sort  of  cattle,  jest  as  sure  as  Tory  is  their  name,  and 
infarnal  their  nater." 

In  the  meanwhile,  Selden,  followed  by  the  rest  of  his 
company,  had  reached  the  spot ;  and  the  former  having 
flown  to  the  side  of  his  overjoyed  Jessy  and  her  friends, 
the  now  liberated  captives,  was  exchanging  those  hasty 
and  heartfelt  greetings,  which  the  circumstances  were  so 
well  calculated  to  call  forth,  when  a  new  and  startling 
war-cry  rose  from  the  thicket  below,  where  he  had  just 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  ^9 

learned  from  his  rescued  friends  that  Sherwood  with  the 
main  part  of  his  band  was  posted. 

"Do  you  hear  that,  my  brave  fellows?"  exclaimed  the 
young  officer  in  a  tone  that  rung  through  the  forest,  as 
lie  burst  from  the  group  of  his  embracing  friends,  and, 
with  a  look  of  kindling  enthusiasm,  leaped  forward 
toward  his  men,  "do  you  hear  that  rallying  shout  below! 
But  let  them  come !  The  red-coats  are  flying  in  confu- 
sion before  our  friends  in  yonder  field.  Let  their  scurvy 
minions  here  in  the  bush  be  taught  the  same  lesson. 
Every  man  to  his  post !  " 

Responding  with  hearty  and  reiterated  cheers  to  the 
words  of  their  gallant  leader,  the  men  flew  to  their  stations 
along  the  ridge  to  await  the  approach  of  their  foes,  who 
were  now  evidently  rallying  fur  a  rescue. 

At  this  instant,  a  shower  of  bullets  struck  the  crags  at 
the  very  feet  of  the  captives. 

"Jones,  your  assistance!"  shouted  Selden,  rushing 
back  to  the  group  who  had  thus  narrowly  escaped  death, 
and  pointing  him  to  Alma,  as  he  himself  grasped  his  own 
affianced  girl  in  his  arms,  and  with  rapid  steps  bore  her 
back,  nestling  and  trembling  on  his  bosom,  to  a  place  of 
temporary  safety  over  the  screening  ridge  in  the  rear. 

Comprehending  the  other  at  a  glance,  the  scout  bounded 
forward  to  the  side  of  Miss  Hendee,  at  that  instant  en- 
gaged in  trying  to  quiet  the  alarms  of  her  less  self-pos- 
sessed domestic,  when,  concluding  to  give  the  order  of 
his  superior  its  most  liberal  construction,  he  gave  a  swoop 
with  his  long  arms,  and,  gathering  both  mistress  and 
maid  in  his  grasp,  and  lifting  them  high  from  the  ground, 
bore  them,  blushing  through  their  alarms,  at  their  novel 
situation  aloft,  over  the  hill,  occasionally  pausing  in  his 
monstrous  strides  over  rock  and  log,  to  give  a  wink  to 
Xeshobee  to  follow  his  example  with  Zilpah,  the  only 
female  now  left  on  the  spot  of  danger. 

"  Guess  you  catch  um  first,"  tartly  observed  the.  yel- 
low maiden,  eluding  the  hesitating  grasp  of  her  bashful 
gallant,  and  darting  forward  like  an  arrow  towards  her 
friends. 

"  Where  is  my  father  ?"  inquired  Alma,  with  a  look  of 
concern,  the  instant  she  was  released  from  the  arms  of 
the  scout. 


330  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Your  father,  mum?"  replied  Jones.  "O,  didn't  yer 
see  him?  Why  that  careless  shot  of  the  enemy,  there 
among  you  jest  now,  seemed  to  raise  the  old  Captain's 
dander  right  up,  and,  seizing  the  gun  of  that  dead  Tory, 
that  my  old  Trusty  here  brought  down  in  such  good 
time  for  the  old  gentleman,  I'll  be  blest  if  he  didn't  hob- 
ble  off  like  the  very  mischief  to  help  the  boys  man  the 
cliff.  And  your  tame  redskin  has  concluded  to  do  the  same 
thing,  I  reckon,  seeing  as  how  he  got  the  mitten,"  added 
the  scout,  tipping  a  knowing  and  saucy  wink  to  Zilpah. 

A  general  discharge  of  rifles  and  musketry  by  Selden's 
party,  along  the  top  of  the  ridge  to  the  south,  here  inter- 
rupted the  conversation,  announcing  that  the  enemy  had 
made  their  appearance  on  their  way  up  the  hill  towards 
the  accessible  points  in  the  ledge. 

"That  must  be  a  feint,"  observed  Captain  Selden; 
"they  cannot  be  serious  in  any  attempt  to  mount  the 
ridge  in  the  very  teeth  of  our  death-dealing  rifles,  can 
they,  Jones?" 

"  No,  Captain,  that  ain't  no  part  of  their  calkerlation, 
['11  swear  to  it.  Neither  need  we  have  any  fears  of  their 
flanking  round  the  ledge  to  the  north  of  us,  as  that  might 
bring  'em  between  two  fires,  one  from*  us,  and  another 
from  the  field.  80,  while  a  few  of  'em  are  showing  them- 
selves, and  firing  just  enough  to  keep  up  the  sham,  the 
main  part  will  push  round  at  the  other  end  of  the  ridge, 
about  a  half  mile  or  so,  to  the  south  of  us.  And  I 
shouldn't  be  surprised  if  the  lead  was  flying  considerable 
thick  along  here  in  the  matter  of  twenty  minutes  from 
now — but  suppose  you  put  the  women  a-jogging,  Cap- 
tain ;  and  let  me  be  looking  to  the  sarpents  a  little," 
added  the  scout,  glancing  uneasily  around  him,  and  show- 
ing signs  of  impatience  to  be  gone. 

"  You  are  right,  Jones,"  promptly  replied  Selden,  "  and 
there  is  now  but  one  course  to  be  pursued.  The  ladies 
must  pass  down  the  hill,  and,  striking  for  the  open  field, 
endeavor  to  gain  the  rear  of  our  army.  1  must  attend 
them,  leaving  the  command  of  the  men  with  you  to  cover 
our  retreat — can  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  rather  guess  I  mought ;  that  is,  if  you  will 
clear  with  the  women — the  sight  of  them  kinder  clogs  a 
fellow,  you  know." 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  331 

"Call  in  Captain  Hendee,  then.  He  is  not  nimble 
enough  for  a  bush-fight.  Send  us  also  Neshobee,  and 
two  of  my  men  as  an  escort." 

"  Ay,  ay,  Captain,"  cheerfully  responded  the  scout, 
loping  off  at  a  rapid  pace  to  his  charge — "  ay,  ay, we'll  fix  it 
about  right,  won't  we,  old  Trusty  ?    Trol,  lol,  lol  de  lady." 

Within  five  minutes  from  the  disappearance  of  Jones, 
the  family  party  were  all  collected,  and  in  rapid  motion 
down  the  hill.  Nor  was  the  expedition  with  which  the 
movement  was  accomplished  uncalled-for  by  the  event; 
for,  scarcely  had  they  proceeded  a  furlong  on  their  route, 
before  the  cracking  and  irregular  reports  of  rifles  behind 
them  announced  an  attack  by  the  foe,  in  a  manner  just 
predicted  by  the  sagacious  scout.  Passing  onward  with 
all  the  speed  they  were  capable  of  making,  they  paused 
not  in  their  course  till  they  reached  the  spot  where  they 
and  their  captors  had  halted  in  the  morning.  There, 
after  taking  charge  of  Captain  Hendee's  horse,  which  had 
been  left  tied  to  a  tree,  and  ascertaining  from  the  direc- 
tion and  distance  of  the  firing  at  the  scene  they  had  just 
left,  that  Jones  was  at  least  maintaining  his  position  on 
the  hill,  they  turned  short  to  the  west,  and  made  their 
way  immediately  to  the  opening,  where  the  main  action, 
as  was  evident  from  the  heavy  discharge  of  artillery  that 
occasionally  came  pealing  through  the  forest,  was  still 
kept  up  by  the  slowly  retreating  enemy.  On  arriving  at 
the  borders  of  the  woods,  our  party  entered  the  mouth  of 
a  ravine,  which,  while  it  protected  them,  by  its  screening 
banks,  from  the  view  of  any  spies  whom  Sherwood  might 
have  posted  on  the  hill,  luckily  led  up,  and  opened  upon 
the  plain,  directly  abreast  of  the  position  now  occupied 
by  Warrington's  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

Passing  hastily  along,  in  Indian  file,  up  this  ravine, 
till  fairly  beyond  rifle-shot  distance  from  the  woods,  and 
arriving  by  this  time  at  an  elevation,  where,  still  unseen, 
they  could  easily  obtain  a  glance  over  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion, the  company  halted,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining, 
before  proceeding  any  further,  the  exact  position  of  the 
American  forces,  and  the  prospect  of  maintaining  the 
temporary  advantages  which  they  had  evidently  already 
gained  over  the  boasted  brigade  of  the  gallant,  but  now 
mortified,  General  Frazer. 


332  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

A  misty  veil  of  undissipated  smoke  still  hung  over  tbe 
field  of  battle,  and  prevented  Selden  and  Captain  Hendee, 
who  mounted  tbe  bank  for  tbe  purpose,  from  ascertain- 
ing anything  more  than  tbe  general  positions  of  tbe  bos- 
tile  armies.  Tbe  Americans  having  pursued  their  routed 
enemies  a  short  distance,  had  fallen  back  upon  the  ground 
occupied. by  them  at  the  onset;  while  the  British,  having 
collected  and  rallied  their  broken  and  disordered  forces, 
had  made  a  sullen  stand  about  half  a  mile  distant. 

"  Our  troops  have  beaten  the  red-coats,  and  driven  them 
from  the  field  of  attack,  it  is  evident ;  "  observed  Selden, 
musingly,  as  he  ran  his  eye  anxiously  over  the  field,  "  and 
yet,  I  fear,  their  temporary  victory  has  been  bought  too 
dearly  to  permit  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advan- 
tages they  have  obtained." 

"  I  fear  so  too,"  replied  Captain  Hendee.  "  Nor  do  I 
exactly  like  the  aspect  and  motions  of  the  enemy  yonder. 
See  !  they  are  now  deploying  off  towards  the  woods  against 
our  left  wing.  They  are  either  preparing  for  a  fresh  onset 
in  a  new  form,  or  opening  for  a  reinforcement  large  enough 
to  form  a  centre ;  and  I  am  apprehensive  the  latter,  as, 
now  I  bethink  me,  I  heard  a  treacherous  scoundrel,  who 
came  near  us  a  few  moments  before  you  arrived  for  our 
rescue,  making  tbe  boast  that  a  fresh  body  of  Burgoyne's 
German  hirelings  were  but  a  mile  or  two  distant,  and  in 
full  march  for  the  field." 

"God  forbid!  "  exclaimed  Selden,  with  a  look  of  anx- 
iety and  alarm.  "But  this  must  instantly  be  seen  to. 
Perhaps  our  officers  are  not  aware  of  it.  I  must  immedi- 
ately forward  to  Warrington.  Keep  your  position  here, 
my  friends,  till  I  return,  which  shall  be  soon,  better  in- 
formed how  to  act,  and  with  some  plan  for  your  disposal, 
or  escape,"  added  the  young  officer,  as,  leaping  down  into 
the  valley,  he  seized  the  horse  from  the  hands  of  Nesho- 
bee,  mounted,  and,  waving  a  hasty  adieu  to  the  ladies, 
dashed  forward  at  full  speed  over  the  plain  to  the  Ameri- 
can lines. 

Captain  Hendee,  still  retaining  his  post  of  elevation, 
continued  anxiously  to  watch  those  movements  of  the 
enemy  which  had  raised  his  suspicions  of  an  approaching 
reinforcement.  Nor  had  many  minutes  elapsed  before 
his  worst  apprehensions  were  confirmed  by  the  appear- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  333 

ance  of  Reidesel,  who,  with  flying  colors  and  rattling 
drums,  and  all  the  pomp  and  pride  of  military  array,  came 
pouring  the  numerous  troops  of  his  well-trained  brigade 
across  the  field,  and  bearing  down  in  solid  columns 
directly  upon  the  American  centre,  which  stood  calmly 
awaiting  their  approach  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  Frazer, 
with  his  whole  force,  a  little  in  advance  of  the  Germans, 
moved  rapidly  along  under  the  woods  to  the  south  against 
the  extreme  left  of  the  Americans,  mostly  composed  of 
tne  doubtful  regiment  of  Hale.  A  few  moments  of  awful 
suspense  followed;  and  again  the  flash  of  a  thousand  ex- 
ploding muskets  enveloped  the  encountering  hosts  in 
clouds  of  rolling  smoke,  and  shook  the  earth  and  heavens 
with  the  fearful  concussions  that  followed. 

At  that  instant  Selden,  accompanied  by  a  soldier  with 
two  horses,  emerged  from  the  smoke  and  came  gallop- 
ing to  the  spot. 

"Prepare  for  instant  flight!"  he  exclaimed,  hastily 
dismounting,  and  urging  his  horse  down  the  bank  towards 
the  little  grassy  nook  on  which  the  females  stood  instinc- 
tively crowding  together  in  mute  consternation  at  the 
fearful  noise  and  commotion  of  the  plain  above.  "Ten 
minutes'  delay  on  this  spot  may  again  make  you  pris- 
oners, and  in  the  hands  of  a  brutal  and  exasperated 
soldiery." 

"  There  is  no  hope,  then,  that  our  troops  can  long  with- 
stand this  fresh  and  formidable  onset?"  said  Captain 
Hendee,  coolly  preparing  to  mount  the  horse  allotted  to 
carry  him  and  his  daughter,  in  the  manner  in  vogue 
among  the  settlers  of  carrying  their  females  behind  them 
on  horseback. 

"  Scarcely  longer  perhaps  than  to  allow  us  time  to 
gain  the  forest,"  replied  Selden,  placing  Jessy  on  the  crup- 
per of  his  own  horse,  and  springing  himself  into  the  sad- 
dle before  her,  while  the  little  cavalcade,  the  two  maids 
having  been  placed  on  the  back  of  the  third  horse,  began 
to  move  slowly  down  the  rocky  and  frequently  obstructed 
ravine. 

"  I  feared  so,"  said  the  former ;  "  but  where  in  the 
name  of  Heaven  is  St.  Clair  all  this  time,  that  he  sends 
no  reinforcement  ?  " 

"  Well  may  you  ask  that.  Captain  llendee,"  said  Selden 


334  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

bitterly—"  within  hearing  of  our  guns — with  a  full  knowb 
edge  of  our  attack  by  a  superior  force,  and  with  more 
than  two  thousand  troops  at  disposal,  all  impatient  to  be 
with  us,  he  allows  not  a  man  to  come  to  our  assistance. 
(atod  forgive  him,  I  can't." 

"  Nor  I ;  but  what  of  that  dainty-fingered  colonel 
whom  I  noticed  from  the  hill  standing  aloof  and  idle  with 
his  regiment  at  a  distance  on  the  left?" 

"  Hale  ?  *  Eternal  infamy  on  his  name  !  Having 
looked  coldly  on,  and  without  lifting  a  finger  in  assist- 
ance through  the  whole  of  the  first  assault,  he,  on  the 
approach  of  Frazer  in  this  last  onset,  hoisted  a  white  flag 
— even  before  it  could  be  seen  by  the  enemy,  and  dis- 
gracefully surrendered  his  regiment,  with  all  the  chance 
in  the  world  to  save  it  by  retreat.  And  by  this  craven 
act  he  has  thrown  all  that  important  part  of  the  field 
into  the  possession  of  the  British,  who  are  already 
sweeping  past  us,  and  securing  the  roads  to  the  south, 
leaving  our  brave  friend  Warrington  with  his  regi- 
ment of  heroes  (scores  of  whom  are  stretched  bleed- 
ing, or  lifeless  on  the  field),  and  the  gallant  Colonel 
Francis,  with  his  battalion  of  Massachusetts  troops,  to 
contend  with  a  fresh  force  of  more*  than  double  their 
numbers.  But  they  must  soon  give  way — not  to  retreat 
in  a  body,  for  every  pass  by  which  that  could  be  effected 
in  now  closed  against  them, — much  less  to  surrender 
themselves  as  prisoners,  but  to  break,  scatter  and  save 
themselves  as  they  best  can,  to  rally  again  in  some  ap- 
pointed place  round  the  standard  of  their  lion-hearted 
leader." 

"  And  which  way  do  you  and  Warrington  propose  for 
our  flight,  after  reaching  the  forest  ?  " 

"  An  old  by-road  leading  from  the  head  of  yonder 
pond  directly  across  the  country  to  Otter  Creek,  and  there 
Intersecting  the  Creek  road  to  Pittsford  and  the  older 
settlements.  One  of  our  guards  here  must  be  despatched 
to  call  in  Jones  with  a  dozen  trusty  men  to  guard  us  on 
our  way,  while  the  rest  of  my  company  shall  keep  the 

*  It  is  but  justice  to  say,  that  though  this  was  the  version  put 
on  Hale's  conduct  at  the  time  by  many,  yet  his  family  wholly 
deny  its  correctness,  and  affirm  he  demanded  a  court-martial, 
but  died  before  obtaining  it. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  83& 

accursed  Sherwood  and  his  gang,  if  possible,  engaged,  that 
he  may  have  no  way  to  discover  the  route  we  have  taken 
till  we  are  beyond  the  reach  of  his  malice.  But  hark! 
'tis  a  shout  of  triumph  from  the  British  line  ?  Forward 
with  all  possible  speed— for  God's  sake,  forward  to  the 
woods ! " 

Dashing  onward  at  the  word,  the  whole  party  in  a 
moment  more  gained  the  confines  of  the  forest,  and 
quickly  disappeared  within  its  recesses,  thus  escaping 
the  dangers  of  the  field,  where  they  had  been  nearly  in- 
volved in  the  general  melee  of  dispersing  pursued  and 
pursuing  combatants,  that  ensued  at  the  close  of  that 
fierce  and  bloody  conflict,  but  escaping  only  to  encounter 
other  perils,  in  their  flight  through  the  woods,  of  a  still 
more  fearful  and  dreadful  character. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

**  The  hour  of  fate  draws  on." 

The  setting  sun  was  throwing  its  parting  beams  of  rich 
and  mellow  light,  in  a  thousand  variegated  hues,  over  the 
intermingling  foliage  of  the  deciduous  and  perennial  forest, 
that  deeply  clothed  the  mountain  slopes  to  the  eastward  of 
the  sluggish  Otter.  The  hardy  and  heroic  woman,  whose 
lot  had  been  cast  in  the  wilderness  on  the  banks  of  that 
stream,  and  whose  curious  abode  we  have  already  de- 
scribed in  a  former  chapter,  still  fearlessly  maintained 
her  post,  in  spite  of  all  the  terrors  and  dangers  of  an  in- 
vasion  which  had  driven  every  settler,  to  the  north  and 
west  of  her,  from  his  home,  and  laid  open  all  that  sec- 
tion of  the  Grants,  to  her  very  doors,  to  the  unopposed 
ravages  of  British  and  savage  foes. 

Her  toils  for  the  day  being  over,  she  was  now  sitting 
at  the  door  of  her  rude  cabin,  enjoying,  with  an  anxious 
and  thoughtful  brow,  the  grateful  coolness  of  the  even- 
ing air,  while  her  hopeful  brood  of  embryo  foresters  were 
lolling  upon  the  grass,  or  gambolling  in  childish  freaks 
around  her. 

"  Oh  mother !  what  was  it  that  I  seed  over  yonder,  that 


336  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  HOYS. 

twinkled  kinder  white  in  the  bashes,  just  now?"  ex 
claimed  one  of  the  younger  boys,  starting  up  with  excitec 
looks,  and  pointing  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Creek  at  a 
spot  some  distance  up  the  stream,  where  the  clearing, 
extending  to  the  water,  afforded  a  fair  view  of  the  forest- 
lined  banks  of  the  western  side  of  the  river. 

The  mother  started,  and  threw  a  quick  glance  in  the 
direction  thus  indicated,  but  perceiving  nothing,  she  sank 
back  into  her  seat,  and  observed,  "I  doubt  whether  you 
saw  anything,  my  son ;  but  if  you  did,  it  was  probably 
a  flock  of  pigeons,  or  some  other  birds  rising  from  the 
ground." 

"  No,  it  wan't,  mother,"  replied  the  boy  confidently., 
"  it  wan't  birds  !  It  was  something  coining  proper  fast 
along  this  way,  by  an  open  place  in  the  trees,  and  looked 
just  like  folks  running  with  white  clothes  on." 

Aroused  by  this  remark,  as  well  as  by  the  eager  and 
confident  man  net  in  which  it  was  made,  Mrs.  Story  hastily 
rose,  advanced  a  Tew  steps,  and  sent  an  anxious  and  scru- 
tinizing look  along  the  opposite  bank,  in  search  of  the 
object  that  had  so  excited  the  boy's  attention.  That 
object  was  the  next  moment  disclosed  to  her  in  the  par- 
tial view  she  obtained  of  a  small  company  of  both  sexes 
on  horseback,  urging  forward  their  smoking  and  jaded 
steeds  with  all  possible  haste  towards  the  landing  on  that 
side  of  the  stream.  She  had  been  accidentally  apprised 
that  the  Hendee  family  were  on  their  way  south  the  day 
previous,  and  having  heard  a  distant,  heavy  firing,  in  the 
direction  they  had  taken,  the  fore  part  of  the  present 
day,  and  coupling  the  circumstances  with  the  hurrying 
and  alarmed  appearance  of  the  approaching  company,  a 
painful  apprehension  now  flitted  across  her  mind ;  and, 
with  an  air  of  deep  concern,  she  stepped  inside  the  door, 
took  down  her  rifle,  and  began  to  proceed,  at  a  hurried 
pace,  towards  the  Creek.  Some  doubt,  however,  seeming 
to  arrest  her  steps,  she  stopped  short,  and  again  gave 
eye  and  ear  to  objects  before  and  around  her.  The  report 
of  several  rifles,  some  hundred  yards  up  the  stream,  fol- 
lowed by  the  distant  shout  of  skirmishers,  at  that  instant 
reached  the  spot,  and  at  once  resolved  her  doubts.  Turn- 
ing hastily  to  her  children,  now  huddling  with  looks  of 
alarm  around  her,  and   ordering  them  into  the  house, 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  337 

she  flew  down  the  path  through  the  woods  to  her  land- 
ing, drew  out  her  canoe  from  its  concealment,  and  spring- 
ing in,  pushed  out  boldly  for  the  opposite  shore,  at  which 
she  arrived  just  as  the  fugitives,  with  soiled  and  torn 
garments,  and  wayworn  and  troubled  looks,  came  hurry- 
ing  up  to  the  spot. 

"  God  bless  you  for  this  timely  promptitude,  Mrs. 
Story,"  exclaimed  Selden,  leaping  from  his  horse,  and 
assisting  the  females  and  the  infirm  and  sadly  jarred  old 
veteran  to  dismount. 

"  You  are  pursued  ?  "  eagerly  asked  the  widow. 

"We  are,"  answered  Selden,  "and  have  been  every 
step  of  the  way  from  the  red  field  of  Hubbardton.  We 
did  not,  however,  intend  to  have  brought  peril  to  your 
house.  But  striking  across  the  country  to  the  Creek, 
with  the  hope  of  escaping  up  the  road  to  Pittsford,  we 
discovered  the  road  to  be  ambushed  by  a  party  of  our 
outstripping  foes,  and,  as  our  only  hope  of  escape,  turned 
down  stream  to  find  refuge  at  your  abode.  And  even 
this  we  never  should  have  reached  alive,  but  for  the  pro- 
tecting rifles  of  that  noble  fellow,  Pete  Jones,  and  his 
brave  and  trusty  scouts,  who  are  still  keeping  fourfold 
their  numbers  at  bay  till  we  can  cross." 

"  Well,  Heaven  be  praised  for  your  deliverance  so  far," 
rejoined  the  widow,  who  still  sat  in  her  boat,  heading  it 
up  against  the  bank  for  the  others  to  enter,  "but  come, 
girls,  jump  in  here,  we  will  take  you  over  first." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Selden,  "  there  is  not  a  moment  to  be 
lost.  And  here,  Neshobee,"  he  continued  as  the  native, 
who  had  followed  his  friends  on  foot,  now  arrived, "  throw 
down  your  rifle,  dash  in  there,  and  swim  across  to  bring 
back  the  boat,  while  I  lead  the  horses  into  a  thicket — 
perhaps  they  may  be  saved.  At  all  events,  there  is  no 
chance  to  swim  them  over  here." 

"  The  canoe  will  not  carry  us  all  safely,"  said  Alma,  in 
a  quiet  and  sorrowful  tone,  as  her  companions,  who  had 
first  entered,  seated  themselves  in  the  boat. 

"Oh,  no  danger— not  the  least;  step  in,"  said  the 
widow,  encouragingly. 

"  No,  let  me  remain,"  replied  the  former.  "  There  will 
probably  be  no  danger  till  the  boat  can  return.  But  if 
there  should  be,"  she  added,  in  the  same  plaintive  and 

22 


S38  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

desponding  accents,  "  if  there  should  be,  what  matters  it 
to  me?" 

"Alma  Hen  dee !"  said  the  widow,  looking  up  at  the 
other  with  an  air  of  mingled  surprise  and  expostulation, 
*'  how  is  this  ?  where  is  your  fortitude  ?  " 

The  grief-stricken  maiden  made  a  slight  effort  to  speak, 
but  the  utterance  died  away  on  her  quivering  lip,  and 
the  bright  tear-drops  stood  in  her  eyes. 

"  What  has  happened  to  her?"  asked  the  widow,  look- 
ing round  on  the  company  with  an  expression  of  wonder 
and  concern. 

"  Warrington  has  fallen  in  battle,"  replied  Selclen,  with 
an  unsuccessful  effort  to  speak  without  emotion. 

"Now,  Heaven  forbid! "  exclaimed  the  widow,  in  ac- 
cents which  plainly  told  the  shock  which  the  sad  an- 
nouncement had  imparted  to  her  feelings. 

"Yes,  the  gallant  fellow  has  left  us,"  resumed  the 
other.  "The  melancholy  tidings  were  received  from  a 
soldier,  who  joined  us  in  our  flight,  and  who  said  he 
saw  him  fall  dead  from  his  horse  in  the  last  moments  of 
the  battle.  But  do  not  allow  yourself  to  despond,  my 
dear  Miss  Hendee.  You  had  better  go  over  now,"  he 
added,  soothingly,  as  he  approached,  arid  gently  urged 
ohe  mutely  sorrowful,  but  now  passive  girl  into  the  boat, 
which  was  instantly  headed  round,  and,  under  the  strokes 
of  the  strong-armed  widow,  sent  surging  towards  the 
other  shore. 

Stopping  no  longer  than  to  see  the  females  under  way, 
Selden  sprang  up  the  bank,  seized  the  horses  by  their 
bridles,  and,  whipping  them  into  a  lively  trot,  led  them 
into  a  neighboring  thicket,  tied  them  to  saplings,  and 
flew  back  to  the  shore.  The  active  young  Indian,  who 
had  readily  undertaken  to  swim  the  stream,  had  already 
returned  with  the  canoe,  taken  in  Captain  Hendee,  and 
sat  impatiently  waiting,  with  uplifted  oar,  to  push  agaiii 
from  the  shore. 

"  There  !  now  lay  to  with  a  will,  my  lad,"  cried  Selden, 
leaping  into  the  boat,  just  as  the  scattering  fire  of  several 
rifles,  quickly  returned  by  that  of  a  much  larger  number. 
a  short  distance  beyond,  burst  from  the  bushes  at  a  point 
now  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  the  stream, , 
apprising  them  that  the  enemy  were  rapidly  driving  in 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  339 

Xoues  and  bis  party,  who,  as  previously  concerted,  wero 
retiring  before  their  pursuers  in  three  divisions,  each  in 
turn  coming  in  front,  discharging  their  pieces  from  their 
coverts,  and  scudding  on  to  the  rear  of  the  others,  to 
reload,  and  await  the  approach  of  their  foes. 

"  If  we  can   get  one  boat-load  of  men  safely  over,' 
resumed  Selden,  "  we  shall  be  able,  I  trust,  to  protect  the 
rest  in  crossing;  and  when  all  are  over,  I  hope  to  keep 
the  rascals  on  their  own  side  of  the  river." 

"  That  may  be  done  till  dark,  perhaps,"  observed  Cap- 
tain Hendee,  "  but  with  our  small  force,  not  after,  I  think. 
No,  Captain  Selden,  unless  the  disposition  of  these  Tories 
is  less  devilish  than  I  rate  it,  and  the  nature  of  their 
Indian  allies  has  changed  since  I  used  to  deal  with  the 
hell-hounds,  we  may  as  well  prepare  for  a  siege." 

"  Let  it  come,  then,"  replied  the  other,  determinedly— 
"  wit n  the  widow's  *  t'other  world '  for  a  concealment  and 
stronghold  for  the  women  and  children,  and  those  im- 
pervious logs  of  her  cabin  to  protect  us  while  we  fight, 
many  a  Tory  and  redskin  must  take  a  leaden  supper 
before  they  capture  us.  But  here  we  are,  safe  ashore. 
Neshobee,  will  you  take  back  the  boat,  or  shall  I  ?" 

"  Me  go — no  'fraid,"  answered  the  native,  again  push, 
ing  out  into  the  stream. 

"  Very  well, — I  will  remain  to  superintend  the  trans- 
portation of  the  men.  And  you,  Captain  Hendee,  had 
better  proceed  immediately  to  the  house,  and,  if  you 
will,  be  looking  a  little  to  the  means  of  defending  it.  An 
old  soldier  like  yourself  will  need  no  instructions  in  that 
duty.  Hold  out  blight  hopes  to  the  ladies,  but  see  that 
they  retire  from  the  upper  world  in  season,  and  while 
they  may,  undiscovered,  if  their  passage  to  the  lower, 
with  which  I  am  unacquainted,  is  likely  to  expose  them 
to  the  sight  of  the  enemy." 

"  Ay,  ay,  I  will  see  to  it,"  replied  the  other,  hurrying 
••ff  with  unwonted  activity  to  the  cabin,  where  he  was 
met  at  the  door  by  the  widow. 

"  What  is  the  prospect,  Captain  ?  "  she  asked,  in  a  low, 
eager  tone. 

"  The  men  will  get  over,  I  think,  with  few  or  no  losses 
but- " 

«  But  what  ?  " 


840  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Those  untiring  fiends  are  af  tei  blood !  Our  men  have 
already  to-day  made  a  heavy  inroad  on  their  numbers, 
and  they  are  determined  on  revenge.  I  have  no  hope 
but  that  they  will  find  means  to  cross  the  Creek  and 
besiege  us,  as  soon  as  it  is  dark." 

"  Nor  have  I  the  least,  since  Alma  has  told  me  the 
particulars  of  your  disasters,  and  the  conduct  of  that 
wretch  who  has  caused  them.  Hendee,  I  have  long 
known  that  Jake  Sherwood,  and  have  wondered  at  your 
course." 

"  I  was  duped — deceived,  Ann  Story,  but  I  have  been 
an  egregious  old  fool,  even  at  that,  I  will  own, — besides 
treating  my  own  flesh  and  blood  like  a  tyrant  and  a 
brute.  Furies  1  I  could  beat  my  own  brains  out  I  If  you 
were  a  man,  and  connected  with  me  as  you  are,  you 
ought  to  curse  me  to  my  face.  A  good  round  damning 
from  a  friendly  source  would  seem  to  relieve  my  feelings. 
But  where  are  the  girls?" 

"All  within  here.  They  have  taken  a  little  refresh- 
ment, and  seem  getting  up  their  spirits  a  little." 

"Well,  we  will  not  dampen  their  feelings  at  present; 
but  they,  and  you  with  your  children,  had  better  be  on 
the  move  for  your  underground  refuge."  * 

"That  is  easily  gained  now." 

"  Why,  you  enter  the  Creek  as  formerly,  don't  you?" 

"  No,  I  have  made  an  improvement  this  summer.  Comes 
attend  me,  and  you  shall  see." 

"  I  will,  but  must  first  glance  at  the  means  we  shall 
have  of  defending  the  house,  which  we  must  make  our 
fortress,  for  beating  off  or  weakening  the  enemy.  Your 
place  of  concealment  below  must  be  the  last  resort  of  the 
men,  if  they  enter  it  at  all." 

They  now  entered  the  house,  and  were  met  by  the 
anxious  and  inquiring  looks  of  the  girls,  who  sat  silently 
waiting  to  hear  the  news  which  the  Captain  might  have 
brought  from  the  scene  of  action. 

"Has  he — "  at  length  commenced  Miss  Reed,  unable 
longer  to  repress  her  anxiety,  but  stopping  short  and 
blushing  at  the  exclusiveness  of  the  inquiry  she  was 
about  to  make,  "  has— that  is,  is  the  danger  over?" 

"  We  hope  so,5'  replied  the  Captain,  "  at  least,  there  can 
be  but  little  danger  for  you  females.    Captain  Selden 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  841 

trusts  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  crossing.  He  commands 
without,  and  I,  for  the  present,  within ;  and  I  hope  to 
find  in  yon  a  brave  garrison." 

"Jess\-,  at  least,  will  prove  no  coward  for  herself,  1 
suspect,"  remarked  the  widow,  a  little  archly. 

"  Well,  both  she  and  Alma  are  soldier's  daughters,"  re. 
mined  the  Captain,  "and  should  danger  beset  us  to-night, 
I  trust  they  will  bear  themselves  as  they  have  already 
done  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  with  firmness  and 
fortitude.  But  now  for  the  business  on  hand,"  he  added, 
turning  to  the  hostess,  and  glancing  round  the  walls  of 
the  house. 

"Very  well,  sir,  and,  to  begin,  here  is  my  double  plank 
door — bullet-proof,  I  think,  and  the  fastenings  abundantly 
secure." 

"Yes,  I  have  noticed;  but  what  loop-holes  shall  we 
have  to  fire  from,  besides  that  window  ?  " 

"  Here,"  answered  the  widow,  stepping  up  to  one  of  the 
walls,  and  pulling  out  a  nicely  fitting  block  from  a  cone- 
shaped  embrasure  cut  through  one  of  the  logs.  "  There 
are  two  of  these  on  each  side  and  end  of  the  house,  and  as 
many  more  just  below  the  eaves  in  the  chamber-loft  above." 

"just  the  things  for  us — and  now  if  we  had  but  a  long, 
square  block  to  fill  that  window " 

"  Yon  have  it  at  hand,  with  a  loop  like  the  rest,  in  that 
block  on  winch  the  children  are  sitting  there." 

"Admirable!  a  regular  fort,  by  George!  Ann  Story, 
you  ought  to  be  the  wife  of  a  general.  Let  us  now  proceed 
to  your  unfindable  fastness  below." 

"  In  an  instant,"  said  the  widow,  going  to  the  fire,  and 
blowing  up  a  torch.  "Boys,  lift  that  door,"  she  added, 
pointing  to  a  trap-door  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  that 
opened  into  the  cellar. 

Followed  by  the  Captain,  the  widow  now  descended 
through  the  trap  in  the  floor  on  a  short  ladder  into  the 
cellar,  and  going  to  the  western  side,  and  removing  a 
bundle  of  straw  standing  against  the  wall,  disclosed  the 
entrance  of  a  narrow,  upright  passage,  leading  off  into 
the  earth,  in  the  direction  of  the  river. 

"Come  on!"  said  the  prompt  and  energetic  woman, 
plunging,  with  torch  in  hand,  directly  into  the  dark, 
Vaulted  way  before  her. 


342  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

After  proceeding  several  rods  through  this  straight 
and  narrow  passage,  all  smoothly  cut  through  the  solid 
earth  some  distance  below  the  surface,  they  came  to  a 
lateral  excavation,  forming  an  arched  room  about  a  dozen 
feet  square. 

"This  is  my  half-way  house — my  innermost  recess,'' 
said  the  widow,  stepping  into  the  centre  of  the  room  and 
holding  up  the  light  that  the  other  might  see  to  examine, 
"  This  is  a  much  stronger  place  than  the  outer,  or  western 
room,  which  you  have  been  into  before,  I  believe,  as  the 
earth  is  here  much  thicker  above  us,  owing  to  a  swell  in  the 
surface,  over  which,  to  make  it  still  more  difficult  to  dig 
through,  spread  the  widely  branching  roots  of  several 
large  maples." 

" True,"  replied  the  Captain,  "and  one  man  at  each 
entrance  might  defend  the  place  against  hundreds.  Ah! 
I  plainly  see  that  we  old  soldiers  have  got  to  yield  the 
palm  to  you,  Ann.  In  all  my  experience  of  twenty  yearg 
among  these  northern  forests  in  righting  and  dodging  the 
enemy,  and  planning,  building,  or  seeking  out  places  for 
forts,  defences,  and  refuges,  I  never  saw  or  thought  of 
anything  like  this  establishment  of  yours." 

"  I  can  think  of  no  way  by  which  our  foes  can  rout  us 
from  this,"  rejoined  the  widow,  "unless  they  storm  us, 
or  smoke  us  out.  I  believe  I  shall  curtain  off  this  room 
with  blankets  for  the  children  and  girls  to-night,  while 
we  give  up  the  other  room,  if  needed,  to  our  defenders. 
But  you  have  seen  enough  of  this,  let  us  pass  on." 

They  now  entered  the  remaining  part  of  the  passage, 
which,  after  running  a  few  rods  in  a  different  line,  and 
then  winding  around  to  the  left,  brought  them  into  the 
large  partitioned  room  we  have  formerly  described. 

"This  you  have  seen  before,"  said  the  widow,  pausing 
as  they  entered  the  room,  "and  there  is  nothing  new  to 
show  you  here,  except  my  stores  ;  those  barrels,"  pointing 
to  two  casks  standing  just  within  the  entrance  of  the 
smaller  room,  "contain  provisions,  which,  on  the  rumor 
of  the  approaching  invasion,  I  employed  my  neighbor 
just  before  he  left  us,  to  purchase  for  me  at  Crown  Point." 

"  Well,  it  is  not  impossible  that  we  shall  need  them," 
remarked  the  Captain  thoughtfully. 

"Famine  often  follows  closely  ia  the  footsteps  of  war," 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  348 

resumed  the  other;  "so  I  thought!  would  supply  myself 
in  season.  Nor  do  provisions  constitute  the  whole  of  my 
supplies ;  for,  it  occurring  to  me  at  the  same  time  that 
something  like  the  present  emergency  might  happen,  t 
made  another  purchase,  which  may  be  still  more  impor- 
tant to  ns." 

"  What  may  that  be?  "  asked  the  other. 

"Stand  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  entrance,  take  and 
hold  up  this  torch,  and  I  will  show  you,"  answered  the 
woman,  proceeding  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  tak- 
ing down  a  broad  piece  of  bark  which  had  been  snugly 
fitted  into  the  mouth  of  a  little,  low  chamber,  or  recess, 
excavated  in  the  earthy  wall,  and  disclosing  to  view  the 
ends  of  some  half  dozen  strongly  bound  casks,  to  which 
she  now  directed  his  attention  with  her  finger. 

"  What  have  you  there,  Ann,  so  mysteriously  hid  up?" 
said  the  old  gentleman  with  a  look  of  mingled  curiosity 
and  surprise. 

"  Gunpowder,  with  an  abundance  of  lead  behind  there 
to  serve." 

"  Indeed  !  but  not  all  your  own,  surely?" 

"  No ; — onJy  one  is  mine — the  rest  belong  to  the  settlers, 
who  live  north  of  this,  and  who,  expecting  that  a  stand 
would  have  been  made  against  the  enemy  in  this  vicinity, 
had,  it  seems,  amply  provided  themselves  for  the  crisis. 
But  finding  that  resistance  would  be  useless,  they  con- 
cluded to  flee ;  when,  getting  wind  of  my  stronghold, 
they  brought  their  munitions,  which  they  were  unable  to 
carry  with  them,  to  this  place  for  safekeeping  till  they 
should  return  or  send  for  them." 

"Faith!  that's  lucky,"  exclaimed  the  Captain.  "It 
may  be  wanted  to  supply  the  powder-horns  of  the  men, 
and — and — "  he  continued  partly  to  himself,  as  he  glanced 
about  the  room,  with  a  look  of  wild  and  exulting  joy  at 
the  thought  which  seemed  to  strike  his  mind,  "and  with 
the  chance  which  these  under-ground  rooms  and  passages 
afford,  as  a  last  resort,  of  blowing  that  infernal  gang 
nearer  heaven  than  they  will  otherwise  ever  get — but 
time  enough  to  think  of  that  when  other  measures 
fail." 

"What  measures?"  asked  the  widow,  who,  having 
been  busy  in  replacing  the  door  of  her  magazine,  had  not 


344  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

heeded  the  remarks  of  the  other,  except  two  or  three 
words  at  the  close. 

"  O,  nothing  of  any  present  moment,"  answered  Cap- 
tain Hendee,  with  the  air  of  one  willing  to  let  the  words 
pass  without  being  understood ;  "  but  let  us  now  see  how 
you  have  fixed  the  outer  entrance." 

Resuming  her  torch,  the  widow  immediately  led  the 
way  through  the  passage  to  the  entrance  at  the  bank  of 
the  Creek. 

"  There !  having  no  further  use  for  this  entrance,  I  have 
fastened  it  up,"  said  she,  pausing  as  she  approached  the 
end  of  the  avenue  which  was  blocked  up  by  a  single  layer 
of  square  short  timbers,  placed  horizontally  across  the 
passage  and  let  into  the  earth  at  the  ends.  "  It  can  only 
be  opened  on  the  inside,  as  you  perceive,  or  at  least  not 
easily;  and  I  have  considered  it  a  safe  barrier,  though, to 
be  sure,  by  considerable  digging  on  the  outside — but  hush  ! 
— hark!  Do  you  hear  that  shouting  out  upon  the  Creek, 
or  on  its  banks?" 

"Ay;  and  it  sounds  as  if  thsie's  trouble  afoot  too. 
Cannot  this  top  timber  be  removed  without  danger  of 
exposing  the  entrance  to  the  discovery  of  the  enemy  from 
the  opposite  bank  ?  " 

"  I  should  think  so,  as  the  mouth  is  pretty  thickly  over- 
hung with  bushes." 

"Let  us  lift  it  out  then,  that  we  may  see,  or  at  least 
hear,  what  is  going  on." 

The  timber  was  accordingly  carefully  removed  ;  when 
through  the  crevice  thus  formed,  a  tolerably  distinct 
view  was  obtained  of  a  long  reach  of  the  Creek  above, 
and  a  short  one  below.  The  last  boat-load  of  Seidell's 
men  had  gained  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  were  pull- 
ing with  all  possible  speed  for  the  hither  shore,  on  which 
all  those  who  had  crossed  were  posted  behind  their 
coverts,  keenly  watching,  with  cocked  and  levelled  pieces, 
for  the  first  head  that  should  be  raised  on  the  opposite 
bank  to  fire  upon  the  boat.  The  boat's  crew,  as  they  had 
been  ordered,  were  all  seated,  save  one  man,  who  had 
inadvertently  risen  on  his  feet  to  point  out  to  his  com- 
panions on  shore  the  object  which  had  caused  the  noise 
and  stir  that  had  reached  the  ears  of  the  widow  and  her 
friend.    The  man's  arm  was  still  extended  up  the  river 


THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  345 

with  the  motions  of  one  trying  to  count  a  series  ol  some 
moving  objects. 

The  widow  having  the  most  favorable  position  for  the 
purpose,  instantly  turned  her  eyes  in  the  direction  thus 
indicated. 

"  What  can  you  see  as  the  cause  of  the  commotion  :  " 
asked  the  Captain,  after  the  other  had  gazed  an  instant 
in  silence. 

"  Well,  I  confess,  I  don't  know  exactly  what  to  make 
of  them,"  replied  the  woman,  as  with  a  puzzled  expres- 
sion she  still  kept  her  eyes  riveted  on  the  spot: — "some- 
thing is  evidently  crossing  the  Creek,  nearly  as  far  as  I 
can  see  up  the  stream.  At  any  other  time,  I  should 
think  it  must  be  a  flock  of  cranes  with  their  long  necks 
only  above  water." 

"It  is  the  Indians!"  exclaimed  the  Captain,  in  low, 
startling  accents — "it  is  the  Indians,  swimming  the 
Creek  on  their  backs,  and  holding  their  guns  upright  on 
their  breasts.     I  have  seen  their  tricks  before  to-day." 

At  that  instant  a  stream  of  smoke,  accompanied  by  the 
sharp  crack  of  a  rifle,  shot  out  fiercely  from  an  old  tree- 
top  on  the  opposite  bank,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
man  standing  in  the  boat  fell  over  backwards  into  the 
water,  and  sunk,  to  rise  no  more,  beneath  its  bubbling 
surface.  An  exclamation  of  horror  rose  to  the  lips  of  the 
Captain  and  the  widow ;  but  before  it  could  be  uttered, 
and  while  the  echoes  of  the  last  shot  were  yet  ringing 
among  the  neighboring  hills,  the  stunning  report  of  an- 
other rifle,  bursting  from  the  bank  directly  over  their 
neads,  and  followed  by  a  hollow  groan,  and  a  floundering 
in  the  bushes  on  the  other  side  told  that  the  death  of 
the  victim  was  avenged. 

"There!  Jim  Townley,"  exclaimed  the  well-known 
voice  of  Pete  Jones  on  the  bank  above,  "401d  Trusty' 
has  done  the  business  for  your  murderer,  I  guess; 
though  if  he  hadn't  tore  his  coat  so  as  to  make  a  white 
spot  in  his  back,  as  he  was  slinking  away,  I  never  could 
have  got  an  aim  worth  tiring  for.  Well,"  he  continued, 
soliloquizing,  as  he  appeared  to  be  reloading  his  piece, 
"  that  is  the  way  with  the  best  of  us.  Jim  was  a  fellow 
of  first-rate  grit,  and  I'd  rather  gin  anything  but  old 
Trusty — yes,  and  that  too,— than  to  have  him  gone  so, 


346  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

But  if  spirits  can  hear  and  see  things,  as  some  think,  it 
will  be  a  grand  comfort  to  one  of  Jim's  spunk  and  pride, 
on  his  way  along  up,  to  know  that  the  bloody  rascal 
didn't  live  to  brag  on't." 

The  survivors  of  the  boat's  crew,  now  reaching  the  land- 
ing, sprang  upon  the  bank,  and  took  their  station  among 
their  comrades  along  the  shore,  to  watch  any  further  ap- 
pearance of  their  foes.  But  none  daring  to  show  them- 
selves after  the  lesson  just  received,  a  silence  of  some 
minutes  now  prevailed.  The  calm  was  not  destined, 
however,  to  last  long.  Another  cry  of  alarm  was  soon 
raised  by  one  of  the  men,  eagerly  calling  on  the  rest  to 
look  down  the  stream. 

"  Oh,  the  divils !  the  divils ! "  cried  the  shrill  voice  of 
Jones,  "they  have  stole  our  horses,  and  are  swimming 
them  across  down  there,  with  two  of  the  lubbers  on  the 
back  of  every  horse.  By  Judas!  what  a  chance  to  plug 
them,  if  I  was  only  forty  rods  nearer  I  Say,  Captain  Sei- 
dell, what  if  I  take  two  or  three  men,  and  send  them 
down  that  way  a  little?" 

"No,  Jones,"  replied  Selden,  "our  force  is  too  small 
to  scatter.  The  Indians  in  a  few  minutes  more  will  be 
upon  us  from  above ;  besides,  we  have  not  a  man  to  lose 
in  open  fight.  Let  every  one,  therefore,"  he  continued, 
raising  his  voice  to  a  tone  of  command,  "retire  from  the 
bank,  and,  keeping  a  tree  in  his  range,  repair  directly  to 
the  house.     Then  let  them  come  with  a  welcome." 

"  Well,  the  hour  of  trial  is  at  hand,"  observed  the 
widow  with  a  sort  of  desperate  calmness,  "  and  may  God 
be  merciful  unto  us.  Assist  me,  Captain  Hendee,  to 
replace  this  timber;  and  then  I  must  instantly  back  tc 
bring  down  my  children  and  the  girls.  The  men  wiL 
reach  the  house  by  the  time  we  can  get  there  our- 
selves. There!  that  will  do — all  safe,  I  think.  Now 
follow  me  as  fast  as  your  crazy  old  limbs  will  let  you — 
come  on — faster — faster — come  on  !  — come  on  !  "  And 
with  the  old  veteran,  taxing  his  powers  of  speed  to  the 
utmost  to  keep  up,  the  fearless  woman,  though  anxious 
mother,  with  her  torch  streaming  behind  her,  rather  Hew 
than  walked,  till  she  had  gained  the  cellar,  and  sprang  up 
the  ladder  leading  up  into  the  room,  where  she  had  left 
the  objects  of  her  solicitude. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOY8.  347 

*  Here!"  she  exclaimed,  raising  her  head  through  the 
trap,  and  glancing  round  the  room,  where  the  females, 
ignorant  of  what  had  taken  place  without,  were  uncon- 
cernedly sitting,  with  the  children  sitting  about  their 
chairs,  "here,  to  the  cellar,  every  chick  and  child  of  you, 
to  the  cellar!  And  you,  girls,  must  follow,  without  a 
moment's  delay,"  she  added,  seizing  the  little  urchins  by 
the  waist,  and  lifting  them,  one  by  one,  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, down  the  passway,  as,  alarmed  by  the  startling  tones 
of  their  mother's  voice,  they  ran  huddling  to  the  entrance. 

"Is  there  any  immediate  danger?  "  asked  Alma,  calmly. 
though  with  an  expression  of  some  surprise,  at  the  rapid 
and  agitated  manner  of  the  widow. 

"  Not  for  us,  if  we  are  out  of  the  way  ;  but  the  Tories 
are  crossing  below,  and  the  Indians,  on  this  side  above, 
are,  by  this  time,  perhaps,  within  gunshot  of  us,  in  the 
skirts  of  yonder  woods." 

"And  Selden  and  his  men?" — eagerly  said  Jessy. 

"Will  be  here  in  a  moment  to  make  this  room  their 
fortress,  for  their  own  and  our  protection.  And  a  shower 
of  balls,  through  that  open  door  and  window,  will  prob- 
ably salute  them  as  they  enter." 

"  True,  true,"  observed  Captain  Ilendee,  who,  having 
crowded  by  the  widow  on  the  ladder,  and  gained  the  floor, 
now  stepped  to  the  door,  hastily  shut  it,  and  proceeded 
to  bring  the  block  for  closing  up  the  window,  "true,  this 
danger  to  the  girls  and  children  did  not  occur  to  me,  as 
it  seems  it  did  to  you,  by  your  leading  my  rheumatic 
legs  such  a  deuced  race  through  the  passage  from  the 
Creek.  Yes,  girls,  down  with  you  all,  and  on  to  the  mid 
die  room,  and  have  no  fears  but  that  we  will  defend  you." 

"But  you,  father!  "  said  Alma, looking  back  as  she  was 
descending,  with  an  expression  of  solicitude,  "you  are 
surely  not  to  remain  ? — you  are  too  old — infirm — — " 

"  I  am  young  again,  girl.  The  thought  of  our  treatment, 
and  the  fate  which  our  foes  evidently  design  for  us  still, 
make  me  a  soldier  again — go  down,  my  daughter  and 
may  God  be  with  you,  and  strike  tor  us  all,"  saia  t«he  old 
veteran,  letting  down  the  trap  upon  the  last  of  the  retir- 
ing party. 

Scarcely  had  the  mmgled  voices  of  the  women  and 
children  died  away,  as  they  retreated  along  the  passage 


348  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

to  their  refuge  under  the  earth,  before  Selden  and  his 
men  came  scattering  along  into  the  house,  fortunately 
not,  however,  with  the  danger  which  the  widow  had  an- 
ticipated. As  soon  as  the  whole  company,  now  number- 
ing but  twelve,  including  Captain  Hendee  and  Neshobee, 
had  gained  the  room,  they  immediately  proceeded  to  bar- 
ricade the  door,  and  put  everything  in  the  best  possible 
condition  for  a  defence. 

While  they  were  busily  engaged,  unmindful  of  the 
severe  fatigues  of  the  day,  in  the  excitement  created  by 
the  alarming  prospects  of  the  night,  which  was  now  about 
to  set  in,  the  trap-door  was  pushed  up,  and  the  provident 
widow  reappeared,  ascending  the  ladder  with  a  large  ioaf 
of  bread  and  a  haunch  of  dried  venison  under  one  arm, 
and  a  pail  of  water,  in  which  floated  the  accustomed  gourd- 
shell,  slung  on  the  other.  With  many  a  blessing  on  the 
widow's  head,  and  many  an  oath  to  defend  her  and  hers 
to  the  death,  the  famished  and  wearied  soldiers  eagerly 
fell  upon  the  grateful  repast,  after  which  they  repaired 
with  renewed  spirits  to  the  several  stations  allotted  them, 
above  and  below,  along  the  walls. 

"  I  wish  the  rascals  would  make  themselves  manifest, 
if  they  are  around  us,  as  I  suspect,"  observed  Selden,  after 
the  company  had  stood  some  time  at  their  respective  loop- 
holes, silently  awaiting  the  appearance  of  the  enemy. 

"That  they  will  be  cunning  enough  not  to  do  till  the 
approach  of  darkness,"  replied  Captain  Hendee.  "  Then 
you  will  hear  from  them,  I'll  warrant  you.  And  as  they 
can  have  but  small  hope  of  perforating  these  logs  with 
their  bullets,  they  will  probably  attempt  to  beat  down 
the  door,  or  burn  the  house  over  our  heads." 

"They  will  find  the  latter  a  difficult  job,  1  imagine," 
responded  Selden.  "  These  bare  logs,  after  the  heavy 
rain  of  last  night,  and  that,  too,  at  the  distance  at  which 
we  can  manage  to  keep  the  knaves,  cannot  offer  much  in- 
ducement for  an  attempt  to  ignite  them  with  lighted 
arrows." 

"  True,"  replied  the  other,  "  but  you  forget  the  roof — 
these  bark-coverings  are  rather  combustible." 

"No,  I  thought  of  that,"  rejoined  Selden,  "and  was 
about  to  remark,  that  if  they  fired  the  roof,  we  must  tea* 
ft  off." 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  S4S 

"That  can  be  done,  perhaps/'  replied  the  former.  "At 
l»U  events,  it  will  be  time  enougn  to  think  of  it  when  they 
arrive  for  the  attack ;  for  I  doubt  whether  there  is  now 
one  of  them  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  us." 

"Now,  I've  a  notion  there  is,"  said  Pete  Jones,  who,  in 
the  meanwhile,  had  been  keenly  watching  every  appear- 
ance within  the  scope  of  his  vision;  "and  1  shouldn't  bt 
much  surprised  if  some  of  those  stumps  and  log-heaps  ovei 
in  tne  widow's  grass  yonder,  if  they  could  talk,  would  U 
willing  to  swear  to  it." 

"  Have  you  actually  seen  any  of  them,  Jones  ?  "  asked 
Seiden. 

"  Why,"  answered  the  scout,  with  his  peculiar  comic 
twist  of  features,  "  I  have  actually  seen  a  sign  or  two., 
that  I  have  never  known  fail,  except  in  the  driest  of  times. 
And  with  your  leave,  Captain  Seiden,  1  have  thoughts  oL 
an  experiment,  by  way  of  putting  the  question  at  restj 
and  doing  something  more,  perhaps,  into  the  bargain." 

"Well — very  well — "  said  Seiden,  pausing  for  the  othex 
to  explain  the  nature  of  his  proposal. 

"Here  is  at  it,  then,"  said,  the  scout,  choosing  to  answej 
by  actions  rather  than  words,  the  inquiry  which  the  man. 
ner  of  his  superior  implied,  while  he  proceeded  to  strip 
off  his  coat,  button  it  up,  and,  with  the  brush  of  an  old 
broom  that  stood  in  a  corner,  distend  the  body,  running 
the  short  handle  into  one  arm  to  keep  the  artificial  limb 
thus  made  in  a  horizontal  position. 

"  What  are  you  a  going  to  do  with  your  scarecrow 
now?"  asked  Seiden,  who,  with  the  rest  of  the  company 
stood  looking  on,  anxious  to  learn  the  character  of  thf 
proposed  stratagem. 

"I'll  show  you  in  a  minute,"  replied  Pete,  now  get 
ting  the  poker,  and  suspending  his  contrivance  on  one 
end  of  it.  "There,  Captain  Hendee,  I  want  you  should 
take  charge  of  this  concern — you'll  know  how  to  manage 
it — while  the  rest  of  us,  who  have  keener  sight  for  aim 
in  the  dusk,  will  attend  to  our  rifles.  But  mind  ye,  i 
have  first  got  to  deliver  a  little  bit  of  an  oration  for  the 
benefit  of  the  gentlemen  outside,  if  so  be  that  they'rr 
within  ear-shot,  as  I  surmise." 

The  scout  then,  after  pulling  out  one  end  of  the  blocte 
\n  the  window  a  short  space,  that  his  voice  might  tb> 


850  THE  GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS* 

better  be  beard  by  those  whom  it  was  intended  to  reach, 
commenced  and  carried  on  by  himself  a  sort  of  ventrilo* 
quial  dialogue,  purporting  that  a  discovery  had  suddenly 
been  made  that  they  were  out  of  bullets,  and  were  wish- 
ing to  obtain  a  bar  of  lead  that  had  been  left  standing 
outside  under  the  window,  while  the  question  seemed  to 
be,  who  should  expose  himself  by  reaching  out  his  hand 
to  get  it;  but  one  at  length  appearing  to  be  found  hardy 
enough  to  undertake  the  task,  the  speaker  suddenly 
dropped  the  discourse,  and  turned  to  the  company  present, 
"There,  boys,  have  your  muzzles  to  your  loops,  and 
your  eyes  on  the  look-out  for  game,"  he  said,  in  a  low, 
eager  tone.  "And  you,  Captain  Hendee,  be  ready  to 
pass  the  figure  up  to  the  window,  which  I  am  about  to  lay 
open,  and  which  all,  as  they  value  the  union  of  body  and 
soul,  must  keep  out  of  the  range  of.  Don't  fire  till  I  give 
the  word.  All  ready?  well,  here  goes,  then,"  he  added, 
swinging  out  the  block,  and  stepping  quickly  to  his  loop- 
hole. 

Captain  Hendee  now  proceeded  immediately  to  execute 
the  part  he  had  been  requested  to  perform.     And  while 
the  company  were  waiting  with  breathless  interest  the 
result,  he  moved  along  the  efhgy  towards  the  window,  so 
as  to  show  only  one  arm  and  a  portion  of* the  bust  to  those 
who  might  be  watching  without,  skilfully  imparting  to 
rne   ngure    tne  cautious   ana   nesltatmg   motions    or  a 
ffving   actor,   who  might  be  supposed  to   be  conscious1 
of  the   hazard  incurred,  though  determined  to  approach. 
Scarcely  had  the  protruding  arm   entered    the  narrow 
opening,  bringing  one  side  of  the  body  in  fair  view  to 
the   supposed    lurking   enemy   without,  when  a   bright 
flash   suddenly  gleamed  through  the  window,  and  with 
the  almost  simultaneous  report  of  a  dozen  guns,  burst- 
ing  from  the  surrounding  coverts,  a  shower  of  bullets 
passed  through  the  effigy,  and  buried  themselves  in  the 
logs  of  the  opposite  wall.     There  was  again  a  momentary 
silence,  when,  with  the  lifting  smoke  along  the  line  from 
which   the  fire   proceeded,   several   dark  forms  became 
visible,  peering  out  from    their  respective   coverts,  and 
quivering  and  dodging  about  in  the  dissipating  vapor. 
Then  came  tbe  sharp  word  of  command  from  the  watch- 
ful scout. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  351 

«  Fire ! " 

Eight  well-aimed  rifles  from  the  loops  along  the  walla 
above  and  below,  instantly  spoke  in  response  ;  and  the 
mingled  screech  of  a  half  dozen  voices,  followed  by  a 
yell  of  rage  and  disappointment  from  the  whole  band  of 
the  besiegers,  plainly  told  the  result  of  the  stratagem. 

"  Now,  by  hokey  !  if  I  don't  keep  this  coat  to  brag  on — 
six  bullet-holes  right  through  the  body,  and  the  owner 
still  alive  and  kicking!"  exclaimed  the  scout, picking  up 
the  riddled  garment,  and  feeling  out  the  bullet-holes  with 
his  fingers,  as  the  loud  shout  of  exultation  and  defiance, 
which  burst  from  the  little  band  on  the  occasion,  died 
away  in  the  surrounding  forest. 

For  nearly  an  hour,  the  besieged,  who  had  closed  up 
their  window,  and  resumed  their  respective  posts,  now 
strained  both  ear  and  eye  in  vain,  to  catch  some  sight  or 
sound  indicating  the  presence  of  the  foe  around  them. 
But  fully  aware  of  the  desperate  and  wily  character  of 
those  with  whom  they  had  to  deal,  they  determined  to 
suffer  none  of  their  vigilance  to  relax.  And  but  a  short 
time  elapsed,  before  they  made  a  discovery,  which  taught 
them  the  wisdom  of  the  resolution  : — As  all  stood  watch- 
ing at  their  posts  in  silence,  a  low,  short  exclamation 
from  the  young  Indian,  testified  that  something  suspicious 
had  at  length  attracted  his  attention. 

"  What  now,  Neshobee  ?  "  softly  asked  Selden,  stepping 
noiselessly  towards  the  native,  who  was  lying  on  the  floor 
in  one  corner,  listening  through  a  crevice  which  he  had 
found  between  the  lower  logs. 

"  Me  no  see  nothing,  but  hark  um  scratch  um  but- 
tons— guess  um  lift  something,"  was  the  somewhat  hesi- 
tating reply. 

"  I'll  grant  you  the  best '  harkum,'  as  you  call  it,  boy," 
said  Pete  Jones,  who  stood  near,  and,  on  the  exclamation 
of  the  Indian,  had  renewedly  taxed  his  vision  to 
discover  the  cause ;  "  but  as  to  eye-shot,  you  have  got  to 
knuckle  to  me,  for  I  can  see  them  ;  and  they  are  at  some 
bobbery,  too — though  what  in  the  name  of  reason  it  can 
be,"  he  continued,  pausing  and  hesitating,  as  he  turned 
his  head  one  way  and  then  another,  to  obtain  a  more  dis- 
tinct view  ;  "  what  it  can  be,  1  am  dubious  whether  th« 
livil  himself  can  tell — unless  he  contrived   it   for  'em. 


852  THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  BOY 8. 

They  arc  moving  down  the  path  this  way,  I  believe  y  yea* 
and  in  pairs,  too,  like  new-married  geese.  What  ?— no — 
yes,  they  have  got  something  upon  their  shoulders — 
I  should  think  it  was  one  of  the  corpses  we  made  for  'em 
which  they  were  carrying  to  be  buried,  only  it  is  as  long 
as  a  sea-sarpent." 

"Aha!  I  understand  it,"  cried  the  young  leader,  "it  is 
some  long  timber  which  they  intend  to  use  as  a  battering, 
ram,  to  beat  in  our  door.  And  thank  Heaven  for  the 
timely  discovery,  but  for  which,  ten  to  one,  we  had  been 
lost, — and  even  as  it  is,  there  is  danger  enough.  Stand 
to  your  guns,  boys,"  he  continued,  in  a  low,  thrilling  tone, 
though  sufficiently  raised  to  reach  every  man  within,  "if 
we  can  but  drop  two  or  three  of  the  foremost,  the  whole, 
probably,  will  be  carried  down  by  the  weight  of  the  tim- 
ber— cock  your  guns — keep  a  steady  eye  on  the  advancing 
column,  and  be  ready  for  the  word." 

Slowly,  and  with  noiseless  tread,  did  the  performers  of 
this  new  mode  of  attack  approach  along  the  path,  stag- 
gering under  the  weight  of  the  long,  heavy  pole,  or  rather 
the  trunk  of  a  closely-trimmed  tree,  which  they  bore  on 
their  shoulders,  till  within  three  or  four  rods  of  the  nouse ; 
when,  squaring  round,  and  pointing  the  butt  end  of  their 
formidable  implement  directly  at  the  door,  they  began  to 
bear  it  forward  with  mighty  force  towards  the  object  of 
its  aim,  which,  the  next  instant  must  have  given  way  be- 
fore the  tremendous  impetus  which  it  was  gathering  for 
the  blow.  At  that  critical  juncture,  Selden  gave  the  sig- 
nal to  his  impatient  men,  and  every  gun  that  could  be 
brought  to  bear  was  discharged  upon  the  assailants.  A 
cry  of  agony  rose  from  the  spot,  followed  with  a  shout  of 
"  Hold  on !  for  God's  sake,  hold  on !  "  Then  was  heard  the 
sounds  of  floundering  footsteps,  and  in  another  breath, 
the  whole  came  thundering  to  the  ground.  Once  more 
the  house  rang  with  the  triumphant  shouts  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  and  all  again  was  silent. 

Another  long  respite  was  allowed  our  little  band,  and 
during  the  hour  succeeding  the  last  onset,  nothing  could 
be  seen  or  heard  to  betray  the  presence  of  the  enemy  any- 
where in  the  vicinity  of  the  spot.  They  had  evidently  re- 
tired to  some  distance  to  hold  a  consultation,  and  arrange 
gome  new  method  of  attack.    At  length,  however,  the 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  35S 

occasional  cracking  of  a  dry  stick,  as  it  broke  apparently 
under  cautiously-moving  feet  in  the  fields  and  woods 
around,  apprised  the  intently-listening  band  within,  that 
the  twice  baffled  foe  were  again  stealthily  drawing  up  to 
the  spot,  still  bent  on  renewing,  in  some  shape  or  other, 
the  assault.  After  appearing  to  approach  to  their  line  of 
coverts,  reaching  within  five  or  sis  rods  of  the  house,  a 
dead  silence  of  many  minutes  ensued,  leaving  the  be- 
sieged still  wholly  ignorant  of  the  form  in  which  the 
threatened  attack  was  to  be  made,  and  even,  at  length, 
in  some  doubt  whether  it  was  to  be  made  at  all.  All  at 
once  a  tremendous  outcry  broke  through  the  surrounding 
gloom,  and  the  thrilling  yells  of  the  savages,  mingled 
with  the  hoarser  shouts  of  the  Tories,  resounded  in  one 
unceasing  din  through  the  forest.  Startled,  but  not  dis- 
mayed, by  this  sudden  outbreak,  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys  instantly  cocked  their  pieces,  and  stood  straining 
their  vision  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  foe.  But  they 
watched  in  vain.  No  living  object  was  to  be  seen,  though 
the  noise,  which  seemed  not  to  be  the  regular  war-cry 
sometimes  raised  on  the  eve  of  an  onset,  but  a  promis- 
cuous clamor,  was  continued  without  the  least  intermis- 
sion. And  together  with  the  war-whoop  and  shout,  the 
rattling  of  guns  and  ramrods,  the  crashing  of  dry  brush, 
the  beating  of  clubs  against  trees,  the  mimic  hooting  of 
owls,  the  howling  and  bellowing  of  wild  beasts,  with  all 
imaginable  noises,  seemed  to  unite  to  swell  the  strange 
uproar. 

"  Well,  now,  if  1  an't  beat,"  exclaimed  Pete  Jones,  as 
usual  the  first  with  his  comments  on  the  occasion.  "I 
wonder  if  the  foolish  satans  expect  to  throw  down  our 
walls  of  hard  maple  logs,  and  well  locked  together  at  the 
ends  to  boot,  by  racket  and  roaring,  as  the  Jewish  militia 
did  those  of  old  Jericho,  that  I've  read  of  in  the  Scripter? 
I  rather  guess  they  will  find  it  a  hard  go,  unless  they 
blow  them  down  with  horns  of  powder,  as  I've  sometimes 
kinder  reckoned  must  be  the  meaning  of  the  good  Book, 
in  that  business  I've  just  spoke  of,  seeing  as  how  it  was 
jest  as  easy  for  God  to  make  'em  gunpowder  to  do  it  with, 
as  'twas  manna  to  eat." 

"  I  think  it  must  be  a  feint,"  replied  Selden,  "  to  cover 
some  design  of  a  more  dangerous  character  than  mere 

*3 


ZM  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

noise.  An  attack  of  some  kind  is  doubtless  in  preparatios 
for  us  ;  but  in  what  manner  or  place  the  storm  is  to  burst 
1  am  wholly  at  a  loss  to  conjecture.  Keep  a  keen  eye 
abroad,  boys.  And  you,  Neshobee,  go  immediately  down 
through  the  passage  to  the  western  entrance,  where  you 
heard  Captain  Ilendee  say  he  would  repair,  when  he  left 
us  a  short  time  ago.  Tell  him  to  keep  a  strict  guard  in 
that  cpiarter,  and  if  beset,  send  instantly  for  a  reinforce- 
ment. And  now,  my  brave  lads,"  he  continued,  turning 
to  his  men,  "a  crisis  may  be  at  hand,  which  will  require 
your  coolness  and— but  stay — what  means  this?  Do  my 
eyes  deceive  me,  or  is  it  growing  lighter  in  the  room?" 

"  It  is — it  certainly  is  I"  responded  several. 

"  The  moon — the  rising  moon  !  "  suggested  others. 

"  You  needn't  go  to  blaming  the  moon  for  this,"  coolly 
observed  Jones,  "for,  according  to  my  reckoning,  it  won't 
be  up  this  two  hours." 

"  T_ ue,"  said  the  leader,  "though  evidently  reflected 
light,  it  is  not  from  the  moon.  See !  see !  how  rapidly 
it  increases!  "  he  continued,  as  a  sort  of  flickering  suffu- 
sion of  light,  weak  and  scarcely  perceptible  at  first,  but 
growing  stronger  and  more  distinguishable  every  second, 
as  if  reflected  from  a  steadily  kindling  flame  in  some 
unseen  point  in  the  heavens,  now  began  dimly  to  light 
up  the  grounds  around  the  house,  and  even  render  ob- 
jects in  the  room  visible.  "This  light  was  never  made 
by  the  enemy  to  enable  us  to  shoot  them.  There  is  mis- 
chief afoot  somewhere.  Let  every  man,  then,  stand  to 
his  post,  and  let  every  eye  be  strained  to  discover  the 
cause." 

At  that  instant  the  appalling  cry  of  "  Fire !  the  roof  is 
on  fire ! "  resounded  through  the  loft  above,  revealing  at 
once  to  the  startled  inmates  below,  the  character  of  the 
expected  danger,  and  the  meaning  of  the  mysterious  up- 
roar, which  had,  it  was  now  evident,  enabled  the  enemy 
to  approach  the  house,  mount  it  at  the  corners,  set  fire 
in  different  places  to  the  roof  with  their  ready  prepared 
combustibles,  and  descend  and  escape  unheard  and  unde- 
tected. 

"  Cut  the  fastenings  of  the  outside  binders  of  the  roof, 
and  stave  off  every  bark  of  the  covering  that  the  fire  has 
reached."  shouted  the  excited  leader  to  the  men  above- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS.  856 

**  It  will  expose  us  to  certain  death  from  the  shot  of 
the  enemy,  to  make  an  opening  while  we  remain  here," 
was  the  reply. 

"  Kip  up  the  floor  between  us,  then,"  promptly  said 
Selden,  *'  to  give  us  a  chance  to  do  it  from  below  here— 
jff  with  the  fastenings!  up  with  the  floor!  Hanoi  u>". 
down  two  of  three  of  those  longest  plank  for  our  purpose, 
and  descend  yourselves  to  our  assistance.  Lively,  my 
men  !     As  you  value  our  salvation,  be  lively  1 " 

In  prompt  obedience  to  the  command,  the  men  tore  up 
the  loose  boards  composing  the  floor,  and,  after  passing 
down  to  their  comrades  below  such  as  might  be  needed, 
hastily  threw  the  rest  together  at  the  ends  of  the  loft, 
leaving  all  the  inside  of  the  roof  open  to  the  lower  floor; 
when,  swinging  themselves  down  by  the  bare  beams, 
they  joined  in  the  operations  already  then  in  rapid 
progress  upon  the  frail  covering  above.  The  long  boards 
having  been  reared  up  endwise,  and  each  one  placed  in 
the  hands  of  two  strong  men,  were  now  thrust  forcibly 
against  the  roof  at  the  different  points  where  the  fires 
were  supposed  to  be  burning  on  the  outside;  and  several 
breaches  were  made,  all  expecting,  that,  by  the  removal 
of  a  few  of  the  barks,  the  flames  might  be  extinguished. 
But  appearances  soon  taught  them  that  their  hopes  of 
thus  conquering  the  element  were  wholly  delusive.  The 
light  above,  instead  of  dying  away,  as  portions  of  the 
burning  roof  were  removed,  continued  rapidly  to  increase. 
Small  tongues  of  the  lambent  flames  began  to  show  thenv 
selves  through  the  lateral  crevices  in  the  covering  in 
lumerous  places,  quivering,  and  leaping  from  point  to 
point  along  the  inner  surface,  while  a  general  crackling 
ibove,  plainly  told  them  that  the  tire  had  already  spread 
nearly  or  quite  over  the  whole  of  the  outside  of  the  roof 
Perceiving  that  nothing  short  of  unroofing  the  whole 
building  would  stop  the  progress  of  the  flames,  they  now 
proceeded  with  renewed  vigor  in  their  operations.  Piece 
after  piece  of  the  broad  barks  were  beat  off,  and  hurled 
blazing  to  the  ground.  And  the  work  was  continued 
with  unabated  energy,  till  the  last  vestige  of  the  burning 
material  had  been  removed,  and  nothing  but  the  naked 
rafters  intervened  between,  the  lower  floor,  on  which  all 


856  7BE  GUEEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T3. 

our  little  band  were  now  assembled,  and  the  starry 
heavens  above  them. 

"There,  thank  Heaven,  we  are  freed  from  that  danger 
at  last !"  exclaimed  Selden,  in  tones  of  gratulation,  as  he 
threw  down  the  implement  with  which  he  had  been 
assisting  the  men  in  their  labors. 

"  That's  right  enough,"  observed  the  scout,  whose  at- 
tention for  some  moments  seemed  to  have  been  arrested 
by  some  appearance  he  noticed  through  a  loophole. 
u  All  that  is  right  enough,  mayhap ;  but  while  we  are 
putting  up  thanks  for  deliverance  from  one  danger,  I  am 
a  little  suspicious  whether  or  no  we  hadn't  better  join  to 
'em  a  small  bit  of  a  prayer  to  be  delivered  from  a  worse 
one  that  we've  got  to  see  to  soon,  I've  a  notion- — jest  look 
here,  Captain." 

Selden  turned  to  the  spot  occupied  by  the  speaker,  who 
stood  silently  and  successively  pointing  to  the  differed 
loopholes  along  the  walls,  and  the  words  of  the  latter 
were  explained.  Flames,  rising  from  the  ground  on  the 
outside,  began  to  be  visible,  and  their  flickering  points 
were  already  darting  up  in  fitful  leaps  athwart  several 
of  the  apertures,  announcing  to  the  dismayed  inmates, 
that  a  fire  was  in  rapid  progress  on  the  'outer  walls  of 
the  house,  from  combustibles  which  had  been  piled  up 
against  them,  doubtless,  at  the  time  of  firing  the  roof, 
and  which  had  been  kindled  by  fire  placed  there  by  the 
enemy,  or  by  burning  fragments  of  bark  falling  down 
from  above.  All  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  was  utterly 
impossible  to  arrest,  by  any  means  now  left  them,  the 
spreading  conflagration,  and  that,  consequently,  the  house 
must  soon  be  relinquished  to  the  devouring  element. 
And  but  a  few  more  moments  had  elapsed,  before  they 
were  warned,  by  the  spouts  of  crackling  flames  now  be- 
ginning to  shoot  up  above  the  tops  of  the  roofless  walls, 
and  by  the  sensibly  increasing  heat  in  the  room,  to  pre- 
pare for  their  retreat  to  their  last  refuge  in  the  subter- 
raneous abode  of  their  provident  hostess.  At  that  instant 
the  voice  of  Sherwood,  the  leader  of  their  foes,  was  heard 
above  the  roaring  of  the  flames,  loudly  calling  on  the 
besieged  to  yield  themselves  as  prisoners,  and  come 
forth,  lest  they  should  perish  in  the  tire. 

"  Is  there  a  possibility  of  getting  a  glimpse  of  that 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  357 

demon  through  the  loops?"  asked  Selden,  in  a  tone  of 
concentrated  bitterness.  "  If  there  is,  let  a  rifle  bullet 
take  back  his  answer." 

In  pursuance  of  the  suggestion  of  their  leader,  the  men 
made  an  attempt  to  get  a  sight  of  their  foes,  who,  imw 
sensible  of  their  advantage,  were  heard  shouting  within 
a  few  rods  of  the  house.  But  it  was  useless;  for  the 
walls,  by  this  time,  were  so  completely  enveloped  in  fire 
and  smoke  as  wholly  to  intercept  the  view  of  every 
object  without. 

"  Let  us  beat  a  retreat,  then,  for  the  widow's  strong- 
hold below,"  resumed  Selden  ;  "  but  let  us  pause  a  moment 
to  send  a  glance  over  yonder  tree-tops,  lest  they  con- 
tain eyes  which  will  discover,  in  our  movement,  what  I 
trust  those  exulting  fiends  do  not,  and  will  not  suspect, 
— that  this  is  not  our  last,  nor  best  resource  for  baffling 
their  hellish  purposes." 

The  last  speaker  had  scarcely  ceased,  before  Jones, 
who  seemed  to  have  anticipated  the  object  of  his  superior, 
raised  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  preparatory  to  an  aim, 
while  his  eye  continued  intently  fixed  on  the  body  of  a 
large  hemlock  standing  eight  or  ten  rods  from  the  house. 

"What  now,  Jones?"  said  the  former,  who  noticed 
the  sudden  movement  of  the  scout. 

"  Hold  easy !  "  replied  the  other,  "  there's  something 
that  acts  mightily  like  a  red-skin  going  up  the  back  side 
of  that  tree  yonder.  But  he's  so  pesky  delicate  about 
showing  anything  better  than  toes  and  fingers — stay — ■ 
stay  " — he  continued,  in  a  low  gleeful  chuckle,  "  there's  a 
large  limb  just  above  him,  which,  if  he's  fool  enough  to 
try  to  pass  it,  must  throw  his  body  out  of  the  track  so 
far  that — and,  by  Jethro!  he  is  a-going  to  try  it.  Xow 
hold  still  as  thunder,  all,  and  I'll  be  the  chap  to  speak  to 
the  red  divil." 

Every  eye  now  glanced  anxiously  from  the  long  and 
steadily-poised  tube  of  the  scout  to  the  tree  in  question, 
and  a  moment  of  breathless  silence  succeeded:  when  the 
sharp  report  of  the  piece  rung  through  the  forest,  and 
the  dull,  heavy  jar  upon  the  earth,  that  instantly  followed, 
told  that  another  foeman  was  added  to  the  long  list  of 
victims  who  had  fallen  beneath  the  murderous  bullets  of 
the  unerring  old  Trusty. 


358  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Down!  down  with  you  all,  before  the  smoke  of  tha 
piece  rises,"  exclaimed  Selden,  as  he  now,  after  hurrying 
his    men    through  the   trap  into   the  cellar,  hastily  de 
acended  himself  and  let  the  door  down  after  hira. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  The  waves  a.  moment  backward  bent — 
The  hills  that  shake,  although  unrent, 
As  if  an  earthquake  pass'd — 
The  thousand  shapeless  things  all  driven 
In  cloud  and  flame  athwart  the. heaven, 
By  that  tremendous  blast." 

Leaving  the  burning  building  to  its  fate,  Seiden  and 
bis  men  immediately  entered  the  dark  avenre  below,  when, 
after  blocking  up  the  mouth  as  well  as  they  could,  with 
earth  and  stones  taken  from  the  cellar  wall,  to  keep  out 
the  smoke,  as  well  as  to  secure  it  against  the  discovery 
and  entrance  of  the  enemy,  should  they  break  into  the 
hou^e  before  the  progress  of  the  flames  in  the  interior 
should  prevent  them,  they  proceeded  directly  to  the 
middle  excavation.  Here  they  met  their  Hostess  walking 
with  restless  steps  and  anxious  looks  to  and  fro  before 
the  curtained  apartment  containing  her  family. 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Story,"  said  Selden,  as  he  approached  at 
the  head  of  his  followers,"!  regret  to  inform  you  that 
your  house  is  irrecoverably  on  fire.  We  have  done  our 
best  to  avert  the  catastrophe,  but  have  wholly  failed, 
and  even  have  been  driven  to  retreat  to  your  refuge  foi 
our  own  safety." 

"I  know  it,"  replied  the  widow,  "  I  have  been  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  passage  to  listen  every  five  minutes,  and 
know  all  that  has  happened.  But  let  the  house  go — ali 
— everything,  and  I  am  content  if  my  treasures  here," 
she  continued,  \yith  a  slight  tremor  of  voice  as  she  pointed 
towards  the  curtained  recess,  "if  my  treasures  here  can 
but  be  spared  me.  The  little  fellows,  thank  Heaven,  are 
now  all  asleep,  and  know  nothing  of  the  dangers  that 
hang  over  them.  And  God  grant  that  they  may  remain 
so  till  the  hatchets  of  the  hell-hounds  now  yelling  above 


TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  359 

us  shall,— if  it  is  so  ordered  of  Heaven, — shall  be  buried 
tn  their" — here  choking  with  emotion  at  the  horrid 
thought  which  her  imagination  began  to  suggest,  she 
stopped  short  and  was  for  a  moment  silent. 

"Captain  Selden,"  she  at  length  resumed,  "were  my 
own  personal  safety  alone  concerned,  I  think  I  could  fol- 
low you  to  the  cannon's  mouth  without  flinching.  But 
when  I  find  the  lives  of  my  children  at  stake,  the  mother 
instantly  prevails  within  me,  and  I  become,  in  spite  of 
all  I  can  do,  a  poor  trembling  coward.  But  enough  of 
this — have  you  any  reason  to  suspect  the  enemy  are 
aware  of  our  place  of  refuge  ?" 

"None  whatever ;  and  even  at  the  worst,  we  think  you 
have  but  little  to  fear.     But  where  are  the  girls?" 

"Alma  and  Jessy  are  in  yonder  room  guarding  the 
hollow  stub  through  which  the  smoke  of  our  fireplace 
escapes,  lest  some  of  the  enemy  should  discover  that 
avenue  to  the  room,  and  attempt  to  descend." 

"  Nobly  employed !  But  the  duty  shall  now  be  done 
by  fitter  hands,"  said  Selden,  as,  followed  by  his  men,  he 
passed  on  to  the  main  apartment. 

On  reaching  the  room  they  found  the  girls,  as  the  widow 
had  named,  stationed  before  the  rude  fireplace.  Alma 
was  sitting  upon  a  block  in  an  attitude  which  would  en- 
able her  to  hear  the  least  sound  connected  with  the  hollow 
trunk  above;  while  her  more  volatile  companion,  having 
chosen  the  part  of  sentry,  was  silently  walking  back  and 
forth  before  the  hearth  with  the  widow's  rifle  in  her 
hand.  Nor  was  this  weapon  their  only  dependence:  a 
quantity  of  loose  straw  was  lying  in  the  fireplace,  and  a 
slow-burning  torch  was  at  hand  to  apply  and  set  the 
combustible  material  into  a  blaze  the  instant  any  one 
should  attempt  to  enter  the  cavity  above. 

"Bravo!  ladies,"  exclaimed  Selden  as  he  approached. 
"  I  don't  now  remember  me,"  he  continued,  eyeing  Jessy 
archly,  "to  have  seen  so  heroic  a  display  of  this  charac- 
ter since  whilom  at  the  bloody  siege  of  the  Lower  Falls." 

"Now,  Captain  Selden,"  replied  the  other  with  a  half- 
resentful,  half-deprecating  look,  "  if  you  ever  mention 
that  affair  again,  I  will  never — positively — never  forgive 
you.  Besides,  how  can  you  feel  like  joking  at  such  an 
hour  as  this?" 


360  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"For  ourselves  we  tremble  not,"  interposed  Miss 
Hendee,  rising  and  turning  to  Selden  with  her  usual  calm 
dignity  of  manner;  "but  think  of  that  distressed  mother 
and  her  helpless  family,  upon  whose  heads  we  have 
brought  this  fearful  peril !  " 

"  Heaven  forbid  that  we  should  be  unmindful  of  them," 
rejoined  the  young  leader,  seriously;  "and  believe  me, 
Miss  Hendee,  there  is  not  a  man, — not  a  single  man  of  us 
here,  who,  if  need  be,  would  hesitate  to  sbed  his  heart's 
blood  in  her  defence.  But  we  will  now  relieve  you  of 
your  charge  here,  ladies.  Retire,  then,  and,  if  possible, 
to  rest  and  slumber ;  for  I  well  know  your  exhausted 
systems  must,  by  this  time,  require  both.  Go,  girls,*'  he 
added,  conducting  them  to  the  entrance  of  the  passage 
leading  to  the  apartment  of  their  hostess,  "go, — keep  up 
bright  hopes,  and  rely  on  our  disposition  and  ability  to 
defend  you." 

As  soon  as  the  ladies  had  retired,  a  guard  was  selected 
to  supply  the  place  they  had  just  relinquished,  and  an- 
other was  ordered  to  relieve  Captain  Hendee  and  his 
faithful  attendant  at  the  western  entrance.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  men,  glad  to  seize  every  moment  offered 
them  for  rest,  mostly  threw  themselves  hpon  the  earthy 
floor,  and  fell  asleep,  while  Selden  and  Captain  Hendee, 
willing  to  leave  them  to  what  repose  they  might  thus 
snatch  from  the  duties  to  which  they  were  liable  the  next 
instant  to  be  called,  repaired  to  the  small  partitioned 
room  adjoining,  to  hold  a  consultation  and  be  ready  for 
any  movements  which  might  be  made  by  their  persever- 
ing foes.  A  brief  period  of  comparative  silence  now  suc- 
ceeded, in  which  nothing  was  to  be  heard  below  but  the 
deep,  heavy  snoring  of  the  wearied  men,  and  the  low, 
dull  roaring  of  the  flames  above.  Slight  jarrings  of  the 
earth,  however,  showing  that  the  enemy  were  again  in 
motion,  at  length  began  to  be  perceptible  below ;  and 
soon  the  unexpected  sounds  of  the  blows  of  axes  or 
hatchets  were  added  to  other  indications  of  some  fresh 
project  about  to  be  attempted  by  the  besiegers,  the  nature 
and  object  of  which  the  besieged  had  now  no  means  of 
ascertaining. 

"  Now  that  just  settles  the  question  ;  for  I'll  be  blest 
if  I  stand  it  any  longer,"  exclaimed  Jones,  who  had  for 


THE  GEEEy  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  361 

some  time  manifested  signs  of  uneasiness  as  he  sat  listen- 
ing to  the  movements  above  ground,  and  who,  as  the  last 
sound  struck  his  ear,  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and  began 
with  restless  steps,  to  pace  the  apartment.  "To  be 
cribbed  and  holed  up  here  like  so  many  hunted  foxes,  with 
forty  devils  over  our  heads,  who  may  be  preparing  to  send 
down  one  of  those  great  hemlocks  to  smash  us  like 
midgets,  for  anything  we  know,  or  fixing  some  other 
contrivance  for  us  not  much  better,  and  all  without  allow- 
ing us  the  least  chance  to  know  the  how,  when  and  where- 
abouts, is  a  thing  I  don't  fancy.  And  if  I  can  get  out 
there  at  the  Creek,  I  swow  by  Lucifer's  red  taffeta 
jacket,  I'll  jest  know  what  they  are  up  to  there  above 
ground." 

"  What  do  you  propose  to  do,  Jones?"  asked  Selden, 
who,  overhearing  part  of  the  scout's  soliloquy,  now 
entered  the  room  ;  "  not  to  go  out,  and  alone,  surely  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  I  jest  do,  Captain — that  is,  unless  you  swear 
right  down  I  shan't." 

"  But  consider  the  danger  of  its  leading  to  a  discovery 
of  our  refuge,  and  the  fearful  personal  risk  you  must 
encounter." 

"  And  then  again  consider  the  chance  that  the  satans 
have  smelt  out  that  secret  already,  or,  at  the  best,  that  they 
will,  when  the  house  falls  in,  and  they  find  we  an't  there. 
And  as  to  my  own  risk  in  the  matter,  I  think  you  hadn't 
ought  to  grumble  much,  if  I  don't,  considering,"  said  the 
scout,  taking  the  other's  remarks  for  a  consent  to  his 
proposed  excursion,  and  moving  towards  the  entrance. 

"  Jones,  you  shall  not  go  alone — it  shall  never  be  said 
I  suffered  that,"  said  Selden,  calling  after  the  scout,  and 
snatching  up  a  rifle,  and  following  him  into  the  passage. 

Although  Selden  had  given  way  to  the  proposal  of  the 
scout  with  a  mind  nearly  balanced  between  the  dangers 
which  might  be  averted,  and  those  which  might  be 
incurred  by  the  measure,  yet  having  once  decided  to  per- 
mit and  take  part  in  it  himself,  he  threw  aside  all  his 
doubts,  and  proceeded  to  carry  it  into  instant  execution. 
And  having  ordered  the  guard  at  this  post  to  be  doubled, 
and  leaving  the  command  with  Captain  Hendee,  to  act  as 
circumstances  should  dictate,  the  two  adventurers  re- 
moved a  portion  of  the  block- work  at  the  mouth  of  the 


362        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS. 

passage  sufficient  for  au  egress,  crept  cautiously  and 
silently  out  in  to  the  open  air,  and  soon  gained  the  top  of 
the  bank  above,  unmolested.  Here  they  paused  a  moment 
to  listen  and  reconnoitre  ;  and  perceiving  no  signs  of  the 
presence  of  any  enemy,  except  in  tbe  immediate  vicinity/ 
of  the  burning  tenement,  and  being  thus  relieved  fronv 
their  fears  of  an  ambush  at  this  spot,  which  they  con- 
sidered  the  greatest  personal  hazard  that  they  would  be 
likely  to  incur,  they  again  set  forward  towards  the  scene  of 
action,  by  separate  and  slightly-diverging  routes,  under  ■ 
the  agreement  that  each  should  return  by  himself,  and  as 
speedily  as  possible,  after  obtaining  the  best  knowledge 
of  the  situation  and  movements  of  the  enemy  of  which 
the  case  would  admit.  Carefully  keeping  within  the 
shadow  of  a  tree  or  bush,  lest  the  light  of  the  conflagra- 
tion, which  was  brightly  illuminating  every  open  space  in 
the  woods  around,  should  expose  him  to  the  view  of  the 
enemy,  Selden,  after  leaving  his  companion,  crawled 
noiselessly  on  to  the  border  of  the  woods,  wrhere  he  soon 
succeeded  in  gaining  a  position  in  a  thick  clump  of  low 
evergreens,  which  luckily  afforded  him  every  chance  he 
could  wish  for  observation.  The  greater  part  of  the  enemy 
were  still  at  their  stations,  a  short  distance  from  the 
house,  where  they  stood,  peering  over  their  coverts,  with 
their  guns  levelled  at  the  door,  which  they  were  evidently 
each  moment  expecting  to  see  thrown  open  by  the  besieged, 
whom  the  flames,  they  supposed,  must  soon  drive  from 
the  house.  A  small  band  was  busily  engaged  in  the  edge 
of  the  woods,  some  eight  or  ten  rods  to  his  left,  in  trim- 
ming out  with  their  hatchets  a  small  spruce  tree,  which 
they  had  just  cut  down,  and  which,  he  at  once  concluded. 
was  to  be  used  as  another  battering-ram  ;  the  former  one 
being  found  by  them,  probably,  too  unwieldy  for  their 
purpose.  While  Selden  stood  making  these  observations, 
he  heard  the  steps  and  voices  of  persons  in  the  open 
grounds,  apparently  approaching  from  the  spot  at  which 
the  engine  was  preparing,  and,  turning  his  head,  he  was 
soon  enabled  to  see  two  men  coming  from  a  nook  in  the 
clearing  some  rods  to  his  left,  of  which  his  situation  had 
not  permitted  him  a  full  view.  Passing  along  near  the 
woods,  they  soon  came  between  him  and  the  burning  pile, 
when  they  slackened  their  nace  :  and  finally  coming  to  a 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  363 

stand  a  little  to  his  right,  they  turned  their  faces  towards 
the  fire.  With  the  first  flash  of  light  that  fell  upon  their 
features,  Selden  instantly  recognized  in  one  of  them 
Sherwood,  the  leader  of  the  band.  The  other  he  rightly 
judged  to  be  Darrow,  the  reckless  minion  of  the  former. 
Seidell's  rifle  was  instinctively  brought  to  his  face,  with 
an  aim  at  Sherwood's  heart,  and  his  ringer  was  feeling  for 
the  trigger,  when  prudence  overcame  the  temptation  of 
ending  the  life  of  the  villain,  and  slowly  and  reluctantly 
lowering  his  piece,  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  dialogue 
which  now  ensued  between  these  two  worthies. 

"  Yes,  the  tables  are  now  turned,  Darrow,"  were  the 
first  words  that  became  distinctly  audible  to  our  listener. 
"  We  have  now,  singularly  enough,  chased  them  round 
nearly  to  the  spot  where  this  same  accursed  Selden  was 
one  of  the  foremost  of  the  gang  to  have  me  tied  up  and 
whipped  like  some  scurvy  thief.  And  if  he  is  the  same 
fellow  you  saw  in  the  woods,  near  Crown  Point " 

"  That  I  can  swear  to." 

"  And  if  you  are  right  in  your  suspicions  as  to  the 
other  particular " 

"  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  of  it,  Jake." 

"  Well,  I  got  one  glance  at  his  features  to-day,  and, 
come  to  look  at  him  with  that  object,  I  swear,  I  believe 
you  are  right;  and  if  so,  both  interest  and  revenge  de- 
mands his  death  while  he  is  in  our  power.  But  I  should 
prefer  to  have  this  brought  about  before  they  surrender ; 
and  that  was  the  reason  of  my  particular  orders  to  the 
men  to  pick  him  off  as  soon  as  possible." 

"  Yes,  and  how  the  devil  it  has  happened,  that  he  has 
so  long  escaped  the  effects  of  that  order,  is  more  than  I 
can  tell.  I  h.ive  had  four  fair  shots  at  the  fellow  myself 
in  the  course  of  the  chase  to-day ;  and  two  or  three  of 
the  men  say  they  have  tried  it  with  the  same  luck.  He 
stands  fire  like  a  salamander,  added  the  ruffian,  with  a 
ferocious  grin  at  his  own  wit,  "  and,  by  hell !  I  am  begin- 
ning to  think  they  are  all  of  that  sort  of  animals,  to  stand 
out  there  in  the  flames  at  this  rate." 

"  Well,  the  worst  is  their  own,  damn  'em,"  rejoined 
Sherwood,  with  a  demoniac  laugh  ;  "  and  if  they  do  get 
baked  a  little,  it  is  no  more  than  they  deserve.  But  the 
fact  is,  they  must  have  been  driven  out  long  ago,  if  they 


364  THE~GBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

had  not  contrived  some  way  to  keep  out  the  flames — the 
one,  probably,  which  I  suggested,  that  of  bringing  earth 
from  the  cellar,  and  strewing  it  over  the  upper  floor." 

"And  still  they  must  know,  that  in  fifteen  minutes 
more,  they  will  all  be  buried  beneath  a  blazing  log-heap. 

"True;  and  I  am  surprised,  I  will  own,  that  they  don't 
throw  open  the  door,  and  call  for  quarter.  But  we  will 
now  very  soon  save  them  the  trouble,  as  I  see  our  men  are 
just  starting  with  their  battering-pole  to  beat  in  the  door." 

"I  see;  and  I  am  glad  they  have  got  it  under  way,  at 
last,  for  that  will  tell  the  story,  devilish  quick;  and  to 
tell  the  truth,  Jake,  I  am  plaguy  suspicious  of  some  trick 
about  this  business." 

"  Well,  if  there  is,  tins  will  be  the  best  way  to  discover 
it;  but  had  not  you  better  go  and  take  the  command?" 

"No;  Remington  will  know  how  to  manage." 

"Have  you  given  him  and  the  men  their  orders?" 

"  Yes — to  let  drive  at  the  door  with  all  vengeance." 

"  And  in  case  they  rush  out?" 

"Why,  shoot  down  the  men,  and  spare  the  women  foi 
our  use." 

"  And  supposing  they  cry  for  quarter?" 

"  Remington  is  to  grant  them  ;  but  -three  or  four  of 
such  marksmen  as  he  shall  select,  are  not  to  understand 
the  order  till  they  have  dropped  Selden  on  your  account, 
the  old  Captain  on  mine,  and  that  long-legged  devil,  who 
has  settled  the  fate  of  so  many  of  their  companions  to- 
day on  their  own." 

"All  right,  Darrow;  but  come,  let  us  move  a  little  to 
the  south,  where  we  can  get  a  fairer  view  of  the  door, 
when  they  make  the  trial,  and  where,  at  the  same  time, 
we  shall  be  out  of  the  range  of  the  bullets,  should  the 
rascals  be  desperate  enough  to  attempt  to  fire  upon  us 
again." 

It  was  with  no  small  effort  that  Selden  restrained  him- 
self from  taking  immediate  vengeance  on  the  black-hearted 
villain  before  him,  as  he  listened  in  silence  to  the  fore- 
going dialogue,  and  discovered  the  extent  of  his  diaboli 
cal  designs.  The  consciousness,  however,  that  the  lives 
of  many — and  among  them,  one  whose  life  was  dearer  to 
him  than  his  own — might  be  endangered  by  the  act,  en- 
abled him  to  master  his  feelings  to  the  end  of  the  dis- 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  365 

course.  And  the  objects  of  his  indignation  having  now 
withdrawn  themselves  from  his  view,  he  gave  his  atten- 
tion, in  common  with  his  foes,  to  the  operations  about  to 
be  commenced  on  the  house,  being  anxious  to  witness  the 
result,  to  see  to  what  discoveries  it  might  lead,  and  to 
what  new  movements  it  might  give  rise,  among  the 
enemy,  before  retreating  from  the  ground  :  nor  had  he  to 
wait  long  for  that  object.  The  new  battering  imple- 
ment, when  once  fairly  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
party  immediately  in  charge  of  it,  was  borne  round  to 
the  front  side  of  the  house,  where  it  was  transferred  to 
the  shoulders  of  those  selected  to  employ  it  against  the 
door.  For  the  next  succeeding  moment,  as  the  engine 
was  being  poised  and  directed  to  the  object  of  its  aim, 
a  breathless  silence  ensued,  broken  only  by  the  sharp 
clicking  of  cocking  rifles,  now  heard  in  every  direction, 
while  the  dark  forms  of  the  enemy  were  seen  slinking 
behind  the  different  objects  of  the  lighted  landscape,  and 
protruding  their  long,  death-commissioned  tubes,  in 
readiness  for  the  expected  rush  of  the  besieged  from  the 
house,  the  instant  the  interior  should  be  laid  open. 

"  All  ready  ? — ahead  with  it,  then  !  "  now  shouted  the 
infamous  villain  to  whom  the  command  of  the  assaulting 
party  had  been  entrusted — "ahead  with  it, as  if  the  devil 
drove  it  on  end !  " 

Starting  at  the  word,  the  men  shot  forward  the  butt 
end  of  their  engine  with  a  desperate  effort  towards  its 
object.  It  struck ;  and  the  massive  door  flew  nearly  to 
the  opposite  wall  of  the  blazing  interior  ;  while  the  sides 
of  the  fabric,  already  loosened,  and  about  to  separate  at 
the  corners,  from  the  action  of  the  fire,  after  tottering  a 
moment  at  the  violent  jar  imparted  by  the  blow,  gradually 
swayed  inward,  and  finally  came  down  in  a  mass  of  red 
ruins  over  the  cellar,  sending  up  to  the  tops  of  the  neigh- 
boring trees  a  broad  gush  of  flames,  that  flashed  far  and 
wide  over  the  surrounding  wilderness. 

The  enemy,  to  whom  this  result  was  wholly  unex- 
pected, looked  on  in  mute  astonishment,  not  un mingled 
apparently,  with  some  feelings  of  horror,  at  the  terrific 
fate,  which  they  took  for  granted  had  befallen  every 
soul  of  the  besieged. 

"  The  devil ! "  at  length  exclaimed  Sherwood,  awaken- 


366  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

ing  from  the  stupor  of  the  surprise  into  which  he  seemed 
to  have  been  thrown  by  the  event — "so  they  have  all 
gone  to  hell  together !  " 

"  That  don't  follow,  by  a  damned  sight !  "  bluntly  replied 
Darrow. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  Bill  ?"  asked  the  former, 
turning  hastily,  and  with  an  air  of  concern,  to  his  minion 

"They-  have  escaped,  Jake!  " 

"In  the  name  of  hell,  how?" 

"Don't  know;  but  depend  on't  they  have.  Why,  do 
you  think  them  such  cursed  fools  as  to  stay  there  to  be 
roasted  alive,  when  the  worst  they  could  fear  from  rush- 
ing  out,  would  be  the  tenfold  preferable  death  by  the 
bullet  ?  Never !  I  tell  you  they  have  found  some  way 
of  escape — probably  by  a  drain,  or  passage  from  the  cel- 
lar into  the  woods.  It  began  to  creep  through  my  hair 
some  time  ago,  but  you  was  so  confident " 

"Damnation  seize  me  for  a  dolt!"  exclaimed  the  en- 
raged leader.  "Ho!  there,  men,  the  game  has  slipped 
through  our  fingers — to  the  woods!  to  the  woods,  for  the 
trail !  "  he  added,  springing  forward  himself  to  take  the 
lead  in  the  execution  of  the  order.  And  so  sudden  and 
unexpected  was  the  movement,  that  before  Seklen  had 
become  fairly  aware  of  the  dangers  of  his  situation,  Sher- 
wood and  Darrow  had  entered  the  woods  but  a  few  rods 
to  the  south,  and  were  rapidly  approaching  the  spot 
where  he  stood  concealed.  Deeming  it  impossible  now 
to  retreat  for  his  refuge  undetected,  and  thinking  there 
might  be  a  chance  that  they  would  pass  by  without  dis- 
covering him,  which  would  still  leave  him  time  to  es. 
cape  before  others  of  the  enemy  could  arrive,  he  prepared 
nis  arms,  and  silently  awaited  the  approach  of  these  two 
deadliest  of  his  foes.  They  came  nearly  abreast  of  him, 
and  were  passing  by,  when  the  motion  of  his  shadow, 
which  was  cast  by  the  bright  flames  of  the  burning  pile 
across  their  path,  caught  their  sight,  and  caused  them  to 
stop  short.  Turning  round  for  the  object,  their  eyes  fell 
upon  the  other,  and  they  gazed  at  him  an  instant  in  evi- 
dent doubt  and  surprise. 

"  The  very  fellow,  by  hell ! "  eagerly  muttered  Darrow, 
in  an  undertone  to  his  companion. 

Ail  three  simultaneously  raised  their  weapons  and 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  367 

fired.  Bui  in  taking  a  hasty  step  forward,  Selden's  foot, 
as  fortunately  for  him,  perhaps  as  for  one  of  his  foes,  be- 
came entangled  in  a  small  bush,  and  in  the  act  of  dis- 
charging his  piece,  he  fell  to  the  ground.  The  bullets  of 
his  foes  whistled  harmlessly  over  his  head,  while  his  own, 
for  the  same  reason,  missed  the  object  of  its  aim.  Leap- 
ing forward  in  the  smoke,  the  desperadoes  both  grappled 
with  their  unprepared  antagonist,  before  he  could  gain 
his  footing,  and  throwing  him  back  upon  the  ground,  drew 
their  knives  to  dispatch  him.  As  Selden  was  about  to 
shut  his  eyes  in  anticipation  of  the  fatal  blow,  he  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  well-known  figure  of  the  tall  scout,  com- 
ing with  tremendous  bounds  to  the  spot.  And  the  next 
instant,  Darrow,  as  he  turned,  and  was  starting  up  at  the 
unexpected  apparition,  received  a  blow  over  his  head 
and  shoulders  from  the  clubbed  rifle  of  the  former,  that 
sent  him  reeling  to  the  earth  ;  while  Sherwood  was  seized 
by  the  same  powerful  hand,  and  dashed  against  a  tree 
with  a  force  that  laid  him  nearly  senseless  by  the  side  of 
his  disabled  companion. 

The  surprise  of  Jones  was  equalled  only  by  his  joy,  as 
Selden,  whom  he  supposed  at  least  badly  wounded,  and 
whom  he  was  about  to  grasp  and  bear  off  in  his  arms,  now 
sprang  upon  his  feet  unhurt,  and  drawing  his  rapier, 
turned  to  add  the  finishing  blow  to  his  two  still  prostrate, 
but  fast-reviving  antagonists. 

At  that  instant,  the  shout  of  rallying  foes,  hurrying  to 
the  rescue,  and  already  entering  the  border  of  the  woods, 
not  twenty  yards  distant,  broke  upon  their  ears,  warning 
them  of  the  necessity  of  immediate  flight. 

"By  Moses!  we  must  legit,  Captain,"  said  the  scout, 
as,  reluctantly  relinquishing  their  object,  they  both 
darted  away  from  the  spot,  and,  throwing  each  a  tree  in 
the  range  behind  him,  commenced  a  rapid  retreat  towards 
the  refuge  they  had  just  left.  In  another  moment  they 
had  reached  the  Creek,  thrown  themselves  over  the  bank. 
entered  the  passage,  and  were  in  the  embrace  of  their 
alarmed  and  anxious  friends,  while  the  woods  above 
were  resounding  with  the  hideous  yells  of  the  dis- 
appointed foe,  running  about  in  search  of  the  missing 
ebjects  of  their  rage. 

Our  band,  having  but  little  reason  to  hope  that  their 


308  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

retreat  would  now  long  remain  undiscovered,  immediately 
set  about  such  preparations  as  were  deemed  necessary 
for  its  defence.  The  short  timbers,  composing  the  barrier 
near  the  mouth  of  the  passage,  were  more  firmly  secured ; 
while  convenient  loopholes  were  formed  by  raising  some 
of  the  upper  timbers,  and  inserting,  at  intervals,  fiat 
stones  between  them.  An  efficient  guard,  with  muskets 
and  fixed  bayonets,  were  then  stationed  at  the  spot,  the 
charge  of  which  was  entrusted  to  the  brave  and  trusty 
scout.  This  and  the  other  arrangements  being  com- 
pleted, they  awaited  in  silent  anxiety  the  approaching 
crisis  of  their  fate,  all  intently  listening,  from  the  differ- 
ent stations  allotted  them  in  the  rooms,  or  along  the 
passages,  for  some  sound  which  should  indicate  in  what 
shape  and  direction  the  expected  assault  was  to  be  made. 
They  were  not  long  in  suspense.  The  sound  of  sup- 
pressed and  eager  voices,  and  cautiously  treading  feet, 
fast  gathering  on  the  bank  above,  soon  apprised  them 
that  the  entrance  to  their  retreat  was  discovered.  For 
some  time,  however,  the  enemy  seemed  wary  and  fearful 
about  showing  their  persons  in  front  of  the  passage. 
But,  after  appearing  to  listen  awhile,  first  one,  and  then 
another,  ventured  out  abreast  of  the  barricade  across  the 
passage,  which  was  situated  about  a  yard  from  its  mouth. 
In  the  mean  time  Jones  and  his  men  stood  within,  hold- 
ing their  breath  in  motionless  silence,  with  their  bayonets 
in  their  loops,  and  their  eyes  eagerly  fixed  on  their 
marked  victims,  who,  feeling  their  dark  way  with  the 
muzzles  of  their  guns,  were  slowly  and  cautiously  ap- 
proaching within  reach  of  the  murderous  blades  of  those 
of  whose  dangerous  proximity  they  were  wholly  unaware. 
The  assailants,  now  striking  the  barricade  with  their 
guns,  paused,  and  seemed  to  hesitate;  but,  after  again 
listening  a  moment,  they  withdrew  their  pieces,  and, 
coming  up  to  the  timbers,  were  beginning  to  feel  with 
their  hands,  apparently  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  ob- 
struction ;  when  the  death-doing  bayonets  were  suddenly 
thrust  forth,  and,  with  horrid  shrieks,  the  pierced  and 
recoiling  wretches  sprang  back,  and  fell  over  with  a  heavy 
splash  into  the  water  below. 

Warned  by  the  fearful  reception  of  their  comrades,  the 
enemy  ventured  not  again  to  appear  before  the  mouth  of 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  369 

the  passage,  but  soon  retired  from  the  bank,  and  for  a 
long  time  gave  the  besieged  no  further  cause  of  alarm. 
So  profoundly  still  indeed,  was  all  above,  that  our  little 
garrison  at  length  entertained  a  strong  hope  that  their 
assailants,  grown  wise  by  the  lessons  they  had  alreadj 
received,  had  given  up  their  design,  and  made  a  final  re- 
treat from  the  place.  The  soldiers  gradually  relaxed 
from  that  stern  and  determined  air  which  the  exigencies 
of  their  situation  had  thrown  over  their  war-worn  visages, 
and  began  to  exchange  the  careless  remark  or  sportive 
jest.  Mrs.  Story,  and  the  other  females,  venturing  from 
their  secluded  refuge,  came  out  into  the  main  room,  to 
hear  from  their  gallant  defenders  a  recital  of  the  various 
occurrences  of  the  night,  to  the  deadened  and  imperfect 
sounds  of  which  they  had  been  listening  for  many  hours 
with  the  most  painful  anxiety.  These  were  accordingly 
narrated.  And  every  individual  feat  accomplished,  or 
peril  encountered,  was  made  the  theme  of  praise  or  gratu- 
lation  to  the  different  actors  of  the  occasion  ;  while  to 
wind  up,  Pete  Jones,  with  his  characteristic  waggish 
gravity,  displayed  to  the  astonished  ladies  his  bullet- 
riddled  coat,  as  a  proof  that  his  case  afforded  a  climax 
to  all  the  hair-breadth  escapes  of  the  night.  As  the  at- 
tention of  the  company  was  thus  engaged,  and  at  the 
instant  when  the  eyes  of  all,  including  those  set  to  guard 
against  the  descent  of  the  foe  down  the  hollow  stub  be- 
fore described,  were  turned  upon  the  scout,  a  savage  war- 
rior dropped  silently  upon  the  hearth,  and  rearing  him- 
self partially  from  his  crouching  attitude,  and  throwing 
a  keen,  rapid  glance  around  the  apartment,  glided  swiftly 
through  the  assembled  group,  and  darted  into  the  dark 
passage  leading  into  the  interior  room,  where  the  chil- 
dren were  left  unguarded.  So  sudden,  so  noiseless  and 
shadow  like,  had  he  entered,  passed  through  them,  and 
disappeared,  that  few  heeded,  and  still  fewer  became  fully 
aware  of  the  character  of  the  apparition.  The  eagle-eyed 
vigilance  of  the  mother  was  not,  however,  thus  to  be 
eluded.  She  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  flitting  form  of  the 
savage,  as  he  entered  the  passage  :  and,  with  the  heart- 
rending exclamation,  "  My  children  !  Oh  !  my  children  !" 
she  sprang  forward  like  a  maddened  tigress,  and  disap 
peared  in  the  passage  after  him. 


370  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"A  light !  follow  instantly  with  a  light ! "  shouted  Sel- 
den,  drawing  his  sword,  and  rushing  into  the  dark  avenue 
to  defend  or  rescue  the  frantic  mother  and  her  perilled 
children  from  the  deadly  knife  of  their  merciless  foe. 
He  had  scarcely  passed  the  entrance,  however,  before  lie 
was  met  by  the  intrepid  woman,  dragging  back,  with 
resistless  force,  the  struggling  savage,  who  had  been  over- 
taken while  groping  his  uncertain  way  onward,  and 
seized  round  the  waist  from  behind  by  the  desperately 
grasping  arms  of  his  captor.  He  had  just  succeeded  in 
unsheathing  his  knife,  which  was  fiercely  glittering  in 
the  light  of  the  advancing  torch,  as  it  rose  and  fell  in 
quickly  repeated,  but,  as  yet,  ineffectual  passes  at  her 
body.  A  glance  sufficed  to  show  the  young  leader  the 
imminent  danger  of  his  unheeding  hostess,  and,  with  the 
next  breath,  his  weapon  was  sent  to  the  hilt  into  the  body 
of  the  screeching  foe. 

"Thank  God!  thank  God!"  hurriedly  ejaculated  the 
nearly  breathless  and  exhausted  woman,  casting  from  her, 
with  a  shudder,  the  gasping  and  gory  corpse,  which,  as 
she  now  turned  and  hastened  back  to  comfort  her  alarmed 
but  untouched  children,  was  drawn  away,  and  covered 
up  in  a  corner. 

While  this  was  taking  place,  Jones  had  placed  a  quantity 
of  the  combustible  material,  already  prepared  for  such  an 
emergency,  in  the  fireplace,  and  applied  the  torch.  And 
by  the  time  Selclen  had  taken  breath  after  his  exploit,  so 
as  to  turn  his  attention  to  other  objects,  the  rapidly 
kindling  flames  were  beginning  to  flash  and  roar  along 
up  the  cavity  above. 

"That  was  well  thought  of,  Jones,"  said  the  latter, 
approaching  the  scout,  who  had  dropped  on  one  knee  in 
the  corner  of  the  fireplace,  and  was  intently  listening  to 
such  sounds  as  he  could  distinguish  in  the  chimney  above, 
amidst  the  roaring  of  the  fire,-—  "  well  thought  of;  but 
what  do  you  hear  up  chimney  ?  " 

"  Why,"  replied  the  scout,  rising  at  the  approach  of  his 
superior,  "  I  got  down  there  to  see  if  I  could  find  out 
whether  there  were  any  more  of  these  visitors  coming 
down  the  hollow,  thinking  that  the  way  they  would 
scratch  and  scrumble  up  back  again,  when  the  smoke  aud 
blaze  met 'em,  would  be  a  curiosity." 


7  HE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  371 

«•  And  what  did  you  discover  ?  " 

"Jest  nothing  but  unsartinty.  Though  from  some 
noises  that  reached  me,  I  rather  guess  there  was  one  or 
more  of  the  scamps  at  the  top  of  the  stub,  harking  down, 
and  waiting  to  see  how  the  first  one  got  on,  before  ventur- 
ing; but  that  wan't  what  I  was  at,  when  you  spoke — " 

«  Well,  what  was  it,  then?" 

"  Why,  I  should  rather  guess  there  was  a  considerable 
party  standing  not  far  from  over  us,  now,  kinder  consult- 
ing, or  mayhap  waiting  to  have  some  contrivances  made, 
as  the  rest  appear  to  be  at  work  with  their  hatchets  round 
in  the  woods  as  busy  as  the  divil  in  a  gale  of  wind." 

"Ha!  what  now? — felling  trees  upon  us?" 

«No — lighter  work  than  that — and,  I'm  thinking 
whether  it  an't  sharpening  stakes,  or  possibly  hewing  out 
wooden  shovels.     But  hush  !  hark !  " 

Every  voice  was  instantly  hushed  at  the  ominous  word? 
and  manner  of  the  scout;  and  as  the  room  became  silent, 
the  sounds  that  had  attracted  his  attention  became  dis- 
tinctly audible  to  the  whole  company  :  at  first  was  heard 
a  distant  trampling  of  feet,  apparently  approaching  with 
slow,  irregular  movement,  from  all  directions  towards 
them.  Nearer  and  nearer  they  came,  pausing  every  few 
steps,  and  stamping  heavily  upon  the  earth  as  they  con- 
tinued gradually  to  close  up  to  that  portion  of  the  surface 
which  extended  over  the  room  where  our  intrepid  little 
band  stood  silently  awaiting  the  result  of  this  new  move- 
ment, the  object  of  which,  they  soon  conjectured,  was  to 
ascertain,  by  sounding  the  earth,  the  exact  position  of 
their  place  of  concealment  before  attempting  to  dig  or 
otherwise  effect  a  breach  through  the  surface.  In  a 
moment  more  the  advancing  lines  reached  the  verge  of 
the  solid  earth,  on  either  side,  and  began  to  step  over  the 
boundary  upon  the  hollow  ground  above  the  room  ;  when, 
seeming  to  become  aware  of  the  fact,  they  suddenly 
paused,  exchanged  a  few  words,  and  commenced  a  furious 
stamping  over  the  whole  space  covering  the  excavation 
beneath.  As  the  trembling  earth  gave  back  the  hollow 
sound,  thus  affording  unequivocal  evidence  that  the  place 
of  their  search  was  at  length  discovered,  they  raised  a 
fierce  yell  of  exultation,  and  fell  to  work  with  their 
hatchets,  and  suck  rude  implements  as  they  had  hastily 


372  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

prepared  for  the  purpose,  in  cutting  away  the  roots,  and 
loosening  and  removing  the  earth  in  such  places  as  they 
had  selected  for  effecting  openings. 

As  soon  as  it  was  fairly  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had 
commenced  operations  for  effecting  a  breach  through  the 
earth  above,  our  band,  with  one  consent,  ceased  listening, 
and  began  to  prepare  for  action.  Every  one  seemed  fully 
sensible  that  a  fearful  crisis  was  now  indeed  at  hand,  and 
carefully  examining  their  arms  to  see  that  everything 
was  in  readiness  for  instant  action,  they  arranged  them- 
selves at  the  command  of  their  leader,  in  lines  around  the 
sides  of  the  room,  while,  in  the  compressed  lip  and  sternly 
knitted  brows  of  each,  was  depicted  the  deeply  breathed 
resolution  to  fight  to  the  death  in  defence  of  themselves 
and  the  fair  and  tender  ones  whose  only  hope  was  now  in 
their  bravery. 

"  Give  me  a  place  among  you,"  cried  the  intrepid  widow, 
at  this  moment  emerging  from  the  inner  room,  armed 
with  her  rifle  and  equipped  for  battle,  "give  me  a  place, 
and  see  whether  I  am  the  first  to  desert  the  post  of 
danger." 

"  But  madam,  dear  madam,"  began  to  expostulate 
Selden,  "do  you  know  the  peril  that  now  awaits  us? 
Do  you  hear  the  sound  of  those  busy  fiends,  belaboring 
the  earth  above  to  break  through  upon  us?  and  there! 
do  you  see  those  fragments  falling  from  that  jarring 
and  trembling  ceiling?  Are  you  aware  that  in  ten 
minutes " 

"  I  have  heard  all — I  see  and  know  all,"  interrupted  the 
womtm,  in  tones  of  desperate  calmness;  "I  am  prepared 
for  the  worst.  I  can  never  live  to  see  my  children  mur- 
dered before  my  eyes.  Here,"  she  continued,  planting 
herself  at  the  entrance  of  the  passage,  "  here  I  will  re- 
main, and  if  the  enemy  enter  here,  it  shall  be  over  my 
dead  body.  Nay,  not  a  word,  Captain  Selden,  I  will  not 
be  denied." 

At  this  moment  Miss  Hendee  and  Miss  Reed  glided 
past  the  widow  into  the  room,  and  with  looks  yet  un- 
moved by  the  danger,  which  they  well  understood  now 
menaced  every  individual  of  the  company,  presented 
themselves  before  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  soldiers. 

"Ah!  girls,  you  missed  the  tread  of  your  sentinel,  did 


THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  373 

you  ?  I  meant  to  have  escaped  you  unnoticed,"  said  the 
widow  with  a  melancholy  smile. 

"Aware  that  the  hour  decisive  of  the  fate  of  us  all  had 
arrived  we  came  to  see  if  we  could  be  of  any  service  here 
or  elsewhere,"  replied  Alma,  in  a  firm  but  serious  tone. 

"God  bless  you,  noble  girls!  "said  Selden,  with  emo- 
tion, advancing  to  the  side  of  his  lovely  and  heroic  friends : 
"God  bless  you  for  this  fortitude  and  self-sacrificing* 
bravery." 

"O!  let  me  die  by  your  side,"  murmured  Jessy,  drop- 
ping her  head  on  Seidell's  bosom. 

Touched  by  this  exhibition,  so  gratifying  to  his  feelings 
as  a  lover,  and  to  his  pride  as  a  soldier,  the  hero,  gently 
putting  her  from  him,  gazed  an  instant  on  the  slight, 
symmetrical  form,  and  the  beautiful  and  soul-speaking 
features  of  the  fond  and  spirited  young  creature  before 
him,  with  the  mingled  look  which  imagination  would 
naturally  ascribe  to  a  worshipper  of  the  goddess  Beauty, 
while  kneeling  at  the  shrine  of  her  image,  and  proffering 
the  strangely  blended  adorations  which  the  nature  of 
that  worship  must  necessarily  have  inspired. 

"No,  no,  Jessy,"  he  at  length  replied,  arousing  himself 
from  the  momentary  enhancement:  "No, girls,  you  two, 
at  least,  may  not — must  not  remain :  to  say  nothing  of 
the  perils  you  must  encounter,  your  presence  here  might 
more  embarrass  than  aid  us.  Retire,  then,  and  trust  to 
us,  under  Providence,  for  your  deliverance." 

"Is  your  father  asleep,  Alma?"  asked  the  widow,  as 
the  young  ladies  were  leaving  the  room. 

"  He  is,"  was  the  reply,  "for,  though  when  he  came  to 
our  room,  and  threw  himself  down  among  the  children 
to  try  to  get  a  little  sleep,  he  desired  me  to  waken  him 
on  the  occurrence  of  any  new  danger,  I  yet  could  not 
find  it  in  my  heart  to  disturb  him  so  soon." 

"Let  him  be  instantly  awakened,"  said  Selden,  "1 
Would  have  his  counsel." 

In  a  few  moments  Captain  Hendee,  who,  nearly  ready 
to  sink  under  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  had  retired  to  the 
inner  room  in  the  interval  of  quiet  which  followed  the 
repulse  of  the  enemy  at  the  western  entrance,  had  made 
his  appearance.  A  glance  at  the  ceiling,  now  visibly 
ithakin^  in  two  different  places  under  the  rapidly  pro- 


374  TEE  OBEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

gressing  operations  of  the  foe  above,  enabled  him,  with 
the  hasty  intimations  just  imparted  by  his  daughter,  tc 
comprehend  at  once  the  situation  of  both  besiegers  and 
besieged. 

"  This  is  a  strait  to  which  I  both  feared  and  expected 
we  should  be  finally  reduced,"  he  remarked  coolly,  after 
a  momentary  pause,  "  but  let  no  man  despair  ;  I  have 
been  in  situations  more  hopeless  than  this,  and  yet 
escaped." 

"  We  can  at  least  sell  our  lives  dearly,"  responded 
Selden. 

"  True,"  replied  the  old  veteran  thoughtfully,  "  even  in 
the  method  of  defence  which  I  see,  from  your  arrange- 
ment, you  propose  to  adopt, — that  of  shooting  the  assail- 
ants as  they  attempt  to  enter  the  breaches  that  they  may 
make.  But  will  you  be  able  thus  to  repel  them  long? 
Every  foot  of  this  earthly  covering,  which  now  protects 
us  from  their  bullets,  may  be  removed,  or  beat  in  upon 
us,  before  we  can  bring  our  guns  to  bear  upon  them  with 
effect.  And  every  surrounding  tree-top  will,  by  that 
time,  conceal  a  foe,  ready  to  send  us  death  from  above ; 
while  firebrands  and  combustibles  will  be  hurled  down 
upon  us  by  those  remaining  on  the  ground.  And  if  we 
retreat  into  our  narrow  passages,  as  we  must,  the  same 
game  will  follow  us  there." 

"  All  these  hazards,  Captain  Hen  dee,"  replied  the  young 
leader,  "I  am  fully  aware  we  may  encounter.  But  what 
other  mode  of  defence  can  we  adopt? — A  sally  from  the 
western  entrance,  which  is  now  doubtless  closely  guarded 
by  the  enemy,  with  the  expectation  that  we  shall  soon  be 
driven  to  make  it,  must  prove  fatal  to  all  who  shall  at- 
tempt it;  while  the  entrance  at  the  other  end  of  the  pas- 
sage is  blocked  up  by  a  red  mass  of  burning  ruins.  What 
other  expedient,  then,  is  left  for  us." 

"  I  had  thought  of  one,"  said  Captain  Hendee,  with  some 
hesitation.  "  I  had  thought  of  one,  as  our  last  resort,  in 
an  emergency  like  this.  It  may  not  be  without  risk  to 
ourselves,  I  am  aware,  but,"  he  continued,  with  fiercely 
flashing  eyes,  "but  it  must  be  swift  destruction  to  the 
accursed  gang  above,  who  are  thirsting  for  our  blood ! " 

"  In  the  name  of  Heaven,  declare  it,  then ! "  eagerly 
cried  Selden,  casting  an  uneasy  glance  at  some  fresh  dem« 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  375 

onstrations  of  the  progress  of  the  foe  in  the  covering 
above. 

"  I  will — here,  this  way,"  replied  the  former,  as,  step- 
ping across  the  room,  he  opened  the  concealed  recess  in 
the  wall,  and  disclosed  the  widow's  magazine  to  the 
wondering  gaze  of  Selden  and  his  men,  who,  ignorant  of 
its  existence,  did  not  at  once  understand  the  nature  of  its 
contents,  or  perceive  the  old  gentleman's  object  in  display- 
ing it.  "There  !  "  he  added,  significantly  pointing  to  the 
heads  of  the  casks  thus  brought  to  view,  "there,  that 
explains  my  plan." 

"How?  What  do  those  barrels  contain?"  rapidly 
demanded  Selden,  with  the  varying  expression  of  doubt, 
surprise,  and  alarm. 

«' Gunpowder!  "  was  the  emphatic  reply. 

"  Good  God  !  Captain  Hendee,  do  you  consider  our  case 
so  desperate,  that,  Samson-like,  we  should  all  perish  with 
our  foes  ?  " 

"  It  does  not  follow  that  we  shall  perish  with  them.  I 
have  seen  somewhat  of  the  operation  of  exploding  mines, 
and  cannot  believe  that  the  effects  in  the  proposed  one 
can  reach  far  into  that  winding  passage,  to  the  further 
end  of  which,  if  thought  safer  than  the  inner  room,  we 
can  all  repair." 

"Til  be  blest  if  I  don't  think  the  old  thrash-the-devil  is 
about  right,  Captain  Selden,"  exclaimed  Pete  Jones,  leap- 
ing about,  and  snapping  his  fingers  in  great  glee.  "Jest 
place  them  in  that  corner  beyond  the  fire  there,  and  it 
must  be  a  sort  of  powder  that  I'm  not  much  acquainted 
with,  if  it  turns  at  a  right  angle  very  far  into  that  passage 
after  mischief.  Well,  now,  the  Lord  be  thanked  for  put- 
ting this  into  your  noddle,  old  friend.  I  had  about  agreed 
to  say  gone  dogs  for  us  all,  but  now  I  can  see  a  consider- 
able sprinkling  of  hope  through  them  barrels  of  thunder 
yonder." 

"  And  you,  Mrs.  Story,  whose  stake  is  the  greatest  in 
the  result,"  said  Selden  turning  to  the  widow,  after 
hastily  running  his  eye  over  the  different  parts  of  the 
room,  as  if  calculating  the  probable  extent  to  which  the 
explosion  would  affect  the  earth  laterally,  what  do  you 
say  to  the  measure  ?" 

«  I  don't  know — I  don't  know,"  replied  the  distressed 


876  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

mother,  who  had  been  mutely  listening  to  the  startling 
proposition,  in  a  sort  of  wild  amazement.  "  The  work  of 
the  element  will  be  terrific — perhaps  fatal  to  us — but  the 
work  of  the  exasperated  foe,  unless  thus  destroyed,  will 
be,  I  fear,  for  all  we  can  do,  no  less  dreadful.  I  leave  it 
to  you,  and  may  God  direct  the  course  which  shall  be  for 
our  good,"  she  added,  with  a  shudder. 

"  It  is  a  fearful  experiment,  but  it  shall  be  tried,"  said 
the  young  leader,  turning  away  to  begin  the  required 
arrangement. 

At  that  instant  a  large  fragment  of  earth  was  suddenly 
ruptured  from  the  ceiling,  and  fell  heavily  to  the  floor, 
scattering  dirt  in  every  direction  around,  and  disclosing 
in  the  place  from  which  it  had  been  detached,  the  point 
of  a  huge  sharpened  stake,  protruding  several  inches  into 
the  room ;  while  the  wild  and  exultant  shouting  of  the 
foe  above,  as  the  stake  was  drawn  up,  and  the  redoubled 
fury  with  which  they  renewed  their  exertions,  all  loudly 
warned  our  band  that  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost  in  pre- 
paring for  the  execution  of  their  purpose. 

"Clear  the  room,  instantly!  "  cried  Selden,  in  low,  but 
•tartling  accents,  "  back !  back !  every  man  of  you,  but 
Jones,  to  the  further  end  of  the  passage — no  remonstrance 
— no  offers ! "  he  continued,  as  urging  them  with  drawn 
sword  from  the  room,  several  began  to  persuade  him  to 
permit  them  to  incur  the  hazard  of  exploding  the  fatal 
mine,  "  not  a  word !  the  match  shall  be  applied  by  my 
own  hand." 

As  soon  as  the  room  was  fairly  cleared,  Selden  turned 
and,  with  rapid  steps,  proceeded  to  the  recess,  drew  forth 
the  barrels,  and,  carrying  them  to  the  corner  opposite  to 
the  entrance  of  the  inner  passage,  placed  them  firmly,  and 
pulled  out  the  bungs,  allowing  a  quantity  of  the  powder 
to  run  out  from  each  on  to  the  ground.  He  then  laid  a 
small,  continuous  train  of  dry  powder,  extending  from 
the  barrels  across  the  room  into  the  entrance  in  question  ; 
while  the  scout,  by  his  orders,  after  having  removed  the 
lights  to  a  safe  distance,  wet  a  cartridge  from  the  contents 
of  his  canteen,  and  hastily  converted  it  into  a  slow  match, 
to  apply  to  the  end  of  the  train. 

"  There !  now  leave  the  rest  to  me,  Jones ;  take  care  of 
yourself,  and  see  that  the  passage  is  kept  clear  for  my 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  377 

retreat,"  said  the  leader,  receiving  a  torch  which  was 
brought  him  by  the  other,  and  taking  his  station  to  await 
the  fearful  moment  of  firing  the  train. 

The  enemy,  in  the  meantime,  were  making  rapid  pro- 
gress. Two  breaches  were  already  made  through  the 
earth  into  the  room,  and  these,  as  was  evinced  by  the  al- 
most constant  falling  of  heavy  masses  of  dirt,  were  every 
moment  widening  ;  while  from  the  trampling  of  feet,  all 
gathering  up  to  the  spot,  the  mingled  shouts,  curses,  and 
commands  of  the  infuriated  gang  and  their  leaders,  it  was 
obvious  that  an  attempt  to  descend  was  about  to  be  made. 
At  this  moment,  they  seemed  to  perceive  that  t  he  besieged 
had  deserted  their  room,  and  retreated  further  into  the 
earth.  Grown  madly  desperate  by  being  already  so  long 
baffled  and  doubly  infuriated  by  the  discovery  that  their 
intended  victims  had  still  a  further  refuge,  they  were  now 
heard  hastily  throwing  aside  their  tools  and  resuming 
their  arms,  preparatory  to  entering  the  breach  to  follow 
up  the  pursuit,  little  dreaming,  in  the  hellish  joy  of  their 
anticipated  revenge,  that  the  torch  was  even  then  sus- 
pended over  the  train,  and  waiting  only  their  first  move- 
ment, to  send  them,  in  an  instant,  with  all  the  passions 
of  fiends  raging  in  their  bosoms,  unannealed  into  the  pres- 
ence of  their  God.  But  while  the  foe-trampled  earth  was 
jarring  to  the  hideous  tumult  above,  the  silence  of  death 
prevailed  through  the  hushed  vaults  beneath.  The  agi- 
tated mother  was  breathing  hurried  ejaculations  over  her 
clasped  children.  And  near  her  might  be  seen  the  hud- 
dling forms  of  her  shuddering  female  companions,  with 
their  fair  hands  tightly  compressed  over  both  ears  and 
eyes,  as  if  to  shut  out  from  their  recoiling  senses  the  noise 
of  the  now  momentarily  expected  explosion  ;  while  the 
men  in  the  dark  passage  beyond,  stood  motionless  and 
silent,  listening  in  the  attitude  of  intensely  excited  expec- 
tation for  the  awful  denouement.  Selden,  in  the  mean- 
while, hesitating  between  his  fears  that  the  train  would 
get  disturbed  by  the  entrance  of  the  foe  into  the  room, 
and  his  anxiety  to  have  the  band  gather  over  or  so  clos<  ly 
around  it,  as  to  bring  them  all  within  the  reach  of  the 
explosion,  still  held  the  torch  suspended  in  his  extended 
hand  over  the  train,  now  lowering  the  point  of  the  low 
flickering  brand  nearly  to  a  contact  with  the  powder,  at 


378        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

some  indication  of  the  expected  descent,  and  now  hastily 
withdrawing  it,  as  other  and  less  decisive  sounds  reached 
his  ear.  His  hesitation,  however,  was  soon  ended  ;  at 
that  instant,  a  loud  yell  at  the  western  entrance,  and  the 
sounds  of  thickly-trampling  feet  that  followed,  told  him 
that  the  enemy  had  forced  the  barrier  at  the  end  of  that 
passage,  and  were  rushing  into  the  room  ;  while  another 
hurra  from  the  Tories  above,  and  the  heavy,  and  quickly 
repeated  jar  of  feet  striking  upon  the  floor,  which  accom- 
panied it,  further  announced  that  the  latter  were  begin- 
ning  to  leap  down  the  breaches  to  join  the  former  in  the 
assault.  At  this  critical  instant,  and  before  the  mingled 
war-cry  of  the  savage  and  Tory  had  died  away  in  the 
echoing  vaults  beyond  him,  the  young  leader  applied  the 
brand  to  the  fuse,  and  rapidly  retreated  along  the  passage 
towards  his  friends.  Having  reached  the  curtained 
recess  containing  the  women  and  children,  and  here  en- 
countering Captain  Hendee  and  Jones,  he  turned  round, 
and  with  them  awaited,  with  palpitating  heart  and  sus- 
pended breath,  the  fearful  result.  With  the  low,  hissing 
sound  of  the  slowly  burning  match,  came  a  cry  of  horror 
from  the  scrambling  foe,  over  whose  mind,  now  for  the 
first  time,  seemed  to  flash  the  dreadful  'truth.  But  too 
late.  The  next  instant,  with  a  concussion  that  almost 
threw  Selden  and  his  companions  from  their  feet,  the 
earth  yawned  and  opened  along  the  passage  overhead 
nearly  to  the  spot  where  they  stood  ;  when  through  the 
long  vibrating  chasm,  was  displayed  to  their  appalled 
vision,  the  broad  space  of  tree-covered  earth  over  and 
around  the  room  beyond,  leaping,  in  disrupturing  masses, 
into  the  air,  along  with  the  diverging  column  of  fiercely 
shooting  smoke  and  flame,  in  which  were  seen,  comming 
iing  with  rocks,  earth,  and  the  limbs  and  trunks  of  up- 
rooted and  swiftly  revolving  trees,  a  score  of  human 
forms,  wildly  throwing  out  their  arms,  as  if  for  aid,  and 
distending  their  mouths  with  unheard  screeches,  as,  with 
blackened  and  distorted  features,  and  dissevering  limbs, 
they  were  borne  upwards  with  amazing  force  in  the  flam- 
ing mass  to  the  heavens.  The  chasm  slowly  closed  over 
the  astounded  but  unharmed  band,  and  shut  out  from 
their  reeling  senses  the  deafening  din  that  was  breaking 
in  crashing  thunders   above.     A  momentary  stillness 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  379 

an«ued  ;  when  the  returning  shower  of  ruins  came  thun- 
dering to  the  earth  ;  after  which,  all  again  relapsed  into 
a  death-like  and  unbroken  silence. 

Once  more  the  morning  light  was  springing  in  the 
golden  chambers  of  the  east,  heralding  the  approach  of 
the  fiery  coursers  of  the  day-god  up  the  glowing  path- 
way of  the  sky.  More  and  more  brightly  broke  the  suffus- 
ing radiance  over  the  mountains,  darkly  gleaming,  at 
first,  upon  the  quiet  surface  of  the  gently  flowing  Otter, 
and  then,  gradually  lighting  up,  one  after  another^  the 
bolder  features  of  the  altered  landscape,  till  the  whole 
scene  of  the  last  night's  thrilling  drama,  and  its  awful 
catastrophe,  stood  revealed  to  the  sight.  The  humble 
tenement  of  the  lone  widow,  which  the  last  setting  sun 
left  standing  unmolested,  in  her  toil-wrought  opening  in 
the  wilderness,  had  disappeared;  and  in  its  place  lay  a 
pile  of  black  and  smouldering  ruins.  Fences  were  thrown 
down  and  scattered  in  every  direction ;  while  the  growing 
crops  in  the  fields  around,  reared  by  the  hard  labors  of  the 
indefatigable  occupant,  and  constituting  her  sole  depend- 
ence for  the  future  sustenance  of  her  numerous  family, 
were  scorched  and  withered  by  the  falling  cinders  thrown 
up  from  the  burning  house,  or  prostrated  and  beat  into  the 
earth  by  the  trampling  feet  of  reckless  foes.  Tb*i  breath 
of  war  had,  indeed,  passed  over  everything,  and  her  little 
all,  in  one  short  night,  had  perished. 

Near  the  banks  of  the  stream,  where  stood  a  thick 
growth  of  trees,  over  and  around  the  main  apartment 
of  the  subterraneous  abode,  now  yawned  a  huge,  black 
chasm  in  the  ground,  in  which  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  late 
regular  room  was  discernible ;  while  the  burnt  and  dis- 
colored bark  and  foliage,  marking  the  standing  forest 
around,  and  the  broken,  splintered  and  uprooted  trees. 
which  had  been  hurled  outward  and  prostrated  with  the 
earth  for  many  rods  in  every  direction  from  the  spot,  and 
which  were  now  lying  strewn  over  the  ground  in  wild 
disorder,  intermingled  with  smoking  rubbish,  all  told  the 
fearful  power  and  extent  of  the  terrific  explosion.  Half 
buried  among  the  wide  scattered  ruins  lay  the  torn,  man- 
gled and  blackened  corpses  of  savage  and  Tory,— the  fated 
victims  of  the  mine,  which  had  so  suddenly,  so  unex< 


S80  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

pectedly  sprung  beneath  their  feet,  sweeping  them,  in  an 
instant,  indiscriminately  away,  with  the  cries  of  antici- 
pated victory  and  vengeance  on  their  lips,  like  chaff  in  a 
whirlwind  of  fire. 

As  the  increasing  daylight  began  to  fall  more  broadly 
upon  this  scene  of  death  and  desolation,  two  human 
forms  might  have  been  seen  cautiously  breaking  through 
the  loose-  earth  that  closed  up  the  mouth  of  the  long 
passage  into  which  our  little  band  last  retreated.  The 
small,  toppling  head,  crane-like  neck,  long  body  and  limbs, 
and  the  peculiarly  rapid  and  shambling  movements  of  the 
one.,  as  now  crouching,  now  rearing  his  tall  form  aloft, 
and  throwing  quick  and  wary  glances  around  him,  he 
glided  round  beneath  the  sides  of  the  broad,  black  pit  into 
which  they  had  emerged,  sufficiently  announced  him  as 
the  incomparable  scout.  The  swarthy  and  immovable 
features,  the  short  figure,  and  deliberate  air  of  the  other, 
proclaimed  him  also  to  be  an  old  acquaintance  of  the 
reader,  the  trusty  and  faithful  Neshobee.  Creeping  out 
of  the  excavation,  the  two  separated,  and  quickly  disap- 
peared in  opposite  directions  in  the  woods  and  bushes, 
along  the  banks  of  the  Creek.  After  the  lapse  of  half  an 
hour,  in  which  they  had  apparently  made  a  reconnoi- 
tring circuit  round  the  opening,  they  reappeared  on  the 
banks  of  the  excavation,  communed  a  moment,  and, 
throwing  aside  the  air  of  caution  that  had  marked  their 
movements,  approached,  with  bold  and  confident  steps, 
towards  the  choked  entrance,  through  which  they  had 
forced  their  way  into  the  open  air. 

"Hurra,  there,  below!  "  shouted  Pete,  dropping  on  one 
knee,  and  poking  his  head  and  long  neck  into  the  dark  hole 
before  him,  "hurra!  ye  poor,  half-smuddered  divils — ask- 
ing the  Captain's  pardon  for  the  freedom — do  you  hear  ?  " 

"Ay,  ay!  what  report — what  news  from  the  regions 
above?"  responded  several  voices  from  the  dark,  and, 
till  then,  silent  recesses  within. 

"The  coast  is  as  clear  as  a  hound's  tooth,"  replied  the 
scout.  "  Yes,  all  clear,  and  that,  too,  with  what  I  should 
call  a  considerable  of  a  vengeance :  so  just  troop  along 
out  here,  and  see  what  God  put  it  into  men's  heads  to 
make  gunpowder  for." 

This  announcement  seemed  to  produce  an  instant  effect. 


TUE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  381 

A  lively  bustle  was  immediately  heard  among  the  party 
below.  And  in  a  few  moments  more,  the  men,  followed 
by  the  women  and  children,  came  creeping,  one  by  one, 
from  their  crowded  and  uncomfortable  retreat,  looking 
worn,  haggard,  and  pale  from  fatigue,  and  more  espe- 
cially  from  the  want  of  fresh  air,  with  which  they  had  but 
imperfectly  supplied  themselves  by  digging,  with  their 
bayonets,  small  holes  through  the  earthy  covering  of 
their  refuge,  to  the  surface  above.  After  reaching  the 
open  air,  the  company  stood  a  moment  on  the  banks  of 
the  chasm,  viewing,  in  silent  horror,  the  awful  spectacle 
that  was  here  presented  to  their  sight;  when^at  the 
suggestion  of  Selden  the  females,  accompanied  by 
himself  and  all  but  the  common  soldiers  (who  were 
busy  in  searching  for  guns  and  other  spoils  among 
the  ruins),  hastened  to  leave  a  scene  so  revolting  to  the 
senses.  And  making  the  best  of  their  way  over  the  tan- 
gled mass  that  everywhere  encircled  the  spot,  with  many 
a  shudder  at  the  disfigured,  and  sometimes  limbless  bodies 
of  the  slain,  for  which  they  were  often  compelled  to  turn 
aside  in  their  route,  they  proceeded  towards  the  open 
grounds  in  front  of  the  site  lately  occupied  by  the  house. 

"TTmph!  look!  jus'  look  urn  up  there! "  exclaimed 
ISTeshobee,  eagerly  pointing  up  the  trunk  of  a  large  dry 
hemlock,  which,  standing  some  half  dozen  rods  from  the 
seat  of  the  explosion,  the  company  were  unobservantly 
passing. 

Arrested  by  the  unusually  excited  manner  of  the  Indian, 
the  whole  party  suddenly  paused,  and  looked  upward 
in  search  of  the  object  to  which  he  was  so  earnestly 
directing  their  attention.  About  half-way  up  the  tree, 
the  doubling  body  of  a  man  hung  dangling  in  the  air, 
from  a  short,  pointed  limb,  upon  which  he  had  evidently 
been  thrown  from  the  earth,  and  literally  impaled  through 
the  middle,  by  the  force  of  the  explosion.  His  cadaverous 
face  was  turned  full  towards  the  company,  and  a  glance 
at  the  peculiar  cast  of  his  death-set  features,  explained, 
at  once,  to  Captain  Hendee  and  the  girls,  the  cause  of 
the  wild  and  gleeful  interest  manifested  by  the  native; 
it  was  the  traitor,  Remington,*  who  first  betrayed  the 

*  The  last  of  this  Tory  family,  consisting  of  several  brothers,  I 
am  informed  was  sent  to  the  state  prison,  a  few  years  ago. 


382  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

family  to  their  enemies,  and  who  was  afterwards  die, 
covered  to  be  in  full  league  with  Sherwood  and  Darrow, 
and,  to  the  last,  in  active  co-operation  with  them,  in  the 
black  designs  which  they  supposed  themselves  cm  the 
eve  of  accomplishing,  when  thus  awfully  arrested  in  their 
guilty  career.  Awestruck  and  appalled  at  the  strange 
and  dreadful  fate  of  the  villain,  the  company,  with  one 
consent,  turned  away  from  the  sickening  sight,  and, 
hastening  from  the  spot,  pursued  their  way  in  thoughtful 
silence,  till  they  had  passed,  as  they  supposed,  beyond 
the  scene  of  these  multiplied  horrors.  Another  trial, 
however,  though  of  a  different  and  mingled  character, 
still  awaited  them ;  a  deep  groan,  issuing  from  a  small 
covert  on  their  left,  now  reached  their  ears,  and  caused 
them  again  to  pause  in  their  steps. 

"It  is  a  human  groan,"  said  Selden,  "and  doubtless 
that  of  some  poor  wounded  wretch,  who  has  crawled 
away  from  the  scene  of  action.  Perhaps  his  life  may 
yet  be  saved,"  he  added,  as,  beckoning  to  Jones,  he 
promptly  set  out  for  the  place  from  which  the  sound  had 
proceeded.  As  the  two  passed  round  to  the  spot,  they 
discovered  a  man  lying  in  a  state  of  almost  utter  ex- 
haustion in  the  weeds  behind  a  long  log,  by  which  he  had 
apparently  been  arrested  in  his  course  while  trying  to 
reach  a  small  brook  a  few  rods  beyond.  His  face,  with 
every  other  exposed  part  of  his  person,  was  thickly  be- 
smeared with  dirt,  gunpowder,  and  blood,  which  last 
was  still  freshly  oozing  from  his  mangled  and  broken 
legs ;  and  it  was  only  by  his  hair,  and  the  remains  of  his 
burnt  and  tattered  dress,  that  he  could  be  distinguished 
as  a  white  man.  He  seemed  to  be  aware  of  the  presence 
of  others,  and  the  lips  began  to  move  with  some  inaudi- 
ble  request. 

"  The  poor  creature  is  begging  for  water,"  said  Selden, 
lowering  his  ear  over  the  face  of  the  invalid;  "let  us 
lemove  him  to  the  brook." 

Raising  him  carefully  in  their  arms,  they  accordingly 
bore  him  to  the  bank  of  the  rivulet,  and  having  placed 
him  in  a  sitting  position,  with  his  back  against  a  large 
stump,  they  applied  a  gourd-shell  of  water  to  his  lips,  ot 
which  he  drank  eagerly  and  deeply.  They  then  washed 
the  blood  and  dirt  from  his  face,  when  he  considerably 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  383 

revived;  and,  opening  his  eyes,  he  looked  up  in  evident 
surprise  on  our  party,  all  of  whom,  having  gathered  round 
him,  now  stood  viewing  his  gory  and  lacerated  limbs  in 
silent  commiseration. 

"Why!  it  is  Darrow — the  wretched  and  guilty.  Dar- 
row!"  exclaimed  Miss  Hendee,  starting  back  in  surprise, 
and  with  an  expression  of  mingled  pity  and  abhorrence. 

"Ay,  guilty  enough,  doubtless,"  responded  Selden, 
"but  as  deeply  dyed  in  guilt  as  he  is,  there  is  another  still 
more  guilty — wretched  man,  what  has  become  of  your 
master?" 

"He  escaped  unhurt  from  your  accursed  mine,"  feebly 
muttered  the  wounded  ruffian  in  reply. 

"And  has  fled?"  asked  the  former. 

"Yes,  fled  like  a  craven  brute,"  said  the  other,  with  an 
angry  scowl;  "fled  with  the  few  who  were  as  lucky  as 
himself,  leaving  me  and  the  rest  of  the  wounded,  with 
our  cries  for  assistance  ringing  in  his  ears,  to  die  like 
dogs,  alone  here  in  the  woods.  And  they  have  died — some 
of  their  wounds,  some  by  crawling  into  the  river  and 
drowning,  and  some  by  plunging  their  knives  into  their 
own  bodies,  to  put  themselves  out  of  misery.  Yes,  all  gone, 
but  me;  and  I " 

"But  perhaps  your  leader  w^ent  off  after  a  reinforce- 
ment, expecting  soon  to  return  with  better  means  of  serv- 
ing you,"  interrupted  Selden,  with  the  view  of  gathering 
from  the  other  such  information  as  would  enable  him  to 
judge  of  the  probability  of  Sherwood's  return  to  renew  the 
attack. 

"No,  damn  him!"  exclaimed  the  wretch  bitterly,  "he 
supposed,  as  I  did,  that  all  of  your  band,  as  well  as  most 
of  our  own,  had  perished  in  the  explosion.  No!  the  in- 
fernal villain  intended  I  should  die,"  he  continued,  with 
an  expression  rendered  fairly  diabolical  with  rage,  com- 
bined with  the  bodily  anguish  he  was  enduring.  "But 
he  did  not  dream  I  should  fall  alive  into  your  hands,  else 
he  had  finished  me  on  the  spot  to  prevent  it,  the  black- 
souled  devil!  for  he  is  well  aware  that  I  know  enough  of 
him,  and  his  father  before  him,  to  make  my  revenge  as 
ample  as  it  will  be  sweet." 

"What    do   you    know    of   his    father?"    asked    Captain 


d84  iEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

Hendee,  stepping  forward,  with  looks  of  eager  curiosity 
and  interest. 

«  Enough,"  replied  the  other — "  enough  of  both,  to  my 
sorrow ;  for,  between  them,  they  have  worked  my  ruin 
and  death.  In  aiding  the  old  man  in  his  villainy,  I  damned 
my  soul ;  and  in  abetting  that  of  his  son,  I  have  lost  my 
life ;  for  I  feel  that  I  must  go  now  soon,  though  I  might 
have  been  saved.  Yes,  and  what  have  they  done  for  me? 
what  can  they  do  now?  Nothing!  The  old  man  has 
gone  to  his  place  ;  and  Jake— perdition  seize  him!" 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  sharply  demanded  the  Captain. 
"Is  John  Sherwood  dead?  Why,  Jake  told  me,  before 
he  turned  devil  to  us,  and  not  more  than  a  week  since, 
neither,  that  his  father  was  alive  and " 

"And  what  if  he  did,"  interrupted  Darrow,  growing 
restless  and  impatient  from  the  pain,  which  was  now 
evidently  beginning  to  invade  the  citadel  of  life — "what 
if  he  did  ?  The  old  man  made  a  will — too  much  in  favor 
of  your  daughter  here,  or  you,  he  suspects — and  ail  was 
to  be  kept  dark  till  he  could  bring  certain  things  about." 

»« Man,  man,  you  are  deceiving  me ! "  cried  the  other, 
warmly. 

"  Father,  I  believe  he  is  speaking  the  truth,"  interposed 
the  daughter,  to  whose  mind  the  late  conduct  of  Sherwood, 
before  inexplicable,  was  now  explained. 

"  Truth— truth  !  Alma  Hendee,"  resumed  the  wounded 
man  now  breathing  thick,  and  speaking  with  increasing 
difficulty ;— "it  is  only  the  beginning  of  truths,  that  con- 
cerns  you  all,  that — that  I  could — that  I  must  and  will 
tell,  if— if  soul  and  body  will  hold  together  long  enough 
for  me  to  expose " 

"  Expose  what  ?— what  can  you  reveal  ?— go  on ! — speak 
—speak ! "  exclaimed  the  old  gentleman,  impatiently 
breaking  in  on  the  other,  in  a  tone  and  air  of  feverish 
excitement. 

u  Wait — wait,"  resumed  Darrow,  grating  his  clenched 
teeth,  and  writhing  about  in  a  fresh  paroxysm  of  anguish 

»I  will— will  tell  all— but  wait  till  this  is  over — 0,that 

pain  !  O !  God !  that  pain,  that  pain ! "  and  the  poor 
wretch  gasped  for  breath,  and  wildly  threw  about  his 
arms  in  the  insufferable  pangs  of  his  agony. 

"  Captain  Hendee,"  he  faintly,  and  in  a  softened  tone. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  385 

resumed,  after  the  desperate  paroxysm  had  subsided,  "  did 
you  ever  mistrust  that  John  Sherwood  played  you  foul 
in  respect  to  your  property,  which  you  was  blind  enough 
to  intrust  to  his  management?" 

"Why,  I  thought  strange,"  replied  the  other,  "and  yet 
I  could  not  detect — but  was  he  dishonest,  then?" 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  Darrow:  "in  that  final  settlement, 
he  defrauded  you  out  of  more  than  half  of  what  was 
honestly  your  own:  and,  as  the  main  instance,  you  recol. 
lect  a  large  landed  lawsuit  he  brought  in  your  behalf?" 

"I  do,"  said  the  Captain;  "and,  finding  he  must  fail 
in  it,  and  subject  me  to  ruinous  costs,  he  compromised, 
by  paying  a  small  sum,  and  withdrew  the  action,  as  I 
Understood." 

"  Well,  now,  it  is  God's  truth,  Captain,"  rejoined  the 
former,  "  that  instead  of  paying  anything,  he  received  a 
large  sum — his  adversary,  and  not  he,  finding  he  must 
fail." 

"The  faithless  villain!"  exclaimed  the  astonished  Cap- 
tain, "  may  the  wrath — but  I  will  not  curse  him,  now  he 
is  gone." 

"  No ;  for  you  can  revenge  yourself  more  effectually," 
said  the  other:  "the  man  with  whom  this  compromise 
was  made  is  still  alive  and,  though  it  was  agreed  that  the 
transaction  should  be  kept  a  dead  secret,  there  is  no  doubt 
he  will  swear  to  the  amount  he  paid  Sherwood,  as  he 
was  not  privy  to  the  fraud  on  you." 

"  But  how  know  you  all  this  ?  "  asked  the  Captain,  some 
new  doubt  seeming  to  arise  in  his  mind. 

"  You  will  know  directly,"  replied  Darrow — u  that  is, 
if — if  I  tell  you  the  rest  "—he  continued,  pausing  and 
hesitating,  as  if  irresolute  whether  to  proceed ;  but  at 
length  seeming  to  make  up  his  mind,  he  resumed,  "Cap- 
tain Hendee,  you  once  had  a  darling  son,  who  was  lost?" 

"  I  did,  I  did,"  responded  the  other  with  visible  emo- 
tion. 

"  And  you  have  heard,"  continued  the  former,  "  that  he 
was  last  seen  with  a  young  man  in  John  Sherwood's 
employ — did  you  ever  see  that  young  man  ?  " 

"No,"  said  the  Captain,  "nor  do  I  know  what  became 
of  him,  or  whether  he  is  now  living." 

"  He  is  still  living,  but  will  not  be  long,"  said  Darrow  • 


?8b'  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  30T8. 

"you  see   him  in  the   miserable,  shattered,  and  dying 
creature  lying  before  you,  Captain  Hendee." 

"You!  you!"  wildly  and  fiercely  exclaimed  the  old 
man,  "  but  what  of  my  son  ?  wretch  !  did  you  murder 
the  boy?"  he  added,  raising  his  voice  almost  to  a  fran- 
tic scream,  as  the  suspicion  flashed  over  his  anticipating 
thoughts. 

"  No,  I  was  spared  that,"  answered  the  other,  "  though 
ray  instigator,  who  was  no  other  than  that  same  John 
Sherwood,  expected  it  of  me,  I  think.  No,  I  came  across 
an  Indian,  who,  for  a  bottle  of  rum,  wras  willing  to  take  the 
boy  where  his  friends  should  never  hear  of  him  again." 

"  And  you  agreed  with  the  hell-hound  to  do  it,  did  you, 
monster!"  again  fiercely  demanded  the  Captain. 

"  Y  es,  I  did  that — I  own  it !  I  own  it !  ay,  I  confess  it !  " 
exclaimed  Darrow,  eagerly  repeating  the  words,  as  if  he  had 
brought  himself  to  this  act  of  penitence  by  some  mighty 
effort.  "  There !  "  he  added,  wildly  and  menacingly 
brandishing  his  fist  at  some  imaginary  presence,  as  he 
began  to  draw  up  his  limbs  and  glare  deliriously  around 
him  under  another  and  fearful  attack  of  his  pains, 
"  there!  I  have  confessed  it,  you  black  fiend!  "  and  with 
a  terrible  yell  of  seeming  exultation  and. defiance,  he  fell 
back  convulsed  from  head  to  foot ;  and  for  many  mo- 
ments, he  appeared  to  be  wrestling  terribly  with  the 
angel  of  death. 

At  length,  however,  he  became  calm,  and  again  opened 
his  eyes  upon  the  horror-stricken,  but  intensely  interested 
company. 

"  I  can't  live  through  another  like  that — so  let  me  speak 
Thile  I  can — you  would  know  more  of  your  son  ?  "  faintly 
said  the  reviving  wretch,  turning  his  glazed  and  bloo^ 
shot  eye  languidly  upon  the  Captain. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  replied  the  other  in  a  softened  and  implor» 
ing  tone,  "  yes,  if  you  have  strength  to  go  on,  tell  me,  if 
you  know,  for  God's  sake  tell  me,  whether  there  is  any 
hope  for  a  bereaved  and  sorrow-stricken  old  man? — Bid 
you  ever  hear  of  the  boy — do  you  think  he  is  still  liv- 
ing?" 

"  If  that  boy  lived  to  grow  up,"  said  Darrow,  in  reply, 
— if  he  be  still  among  the  living,  Captain  Hendee,  I 
believe  he  is  now  standing  by  your  side." 


THE  GREEX  MOUNTAIN  BGY&  887 

Wholly  unprepared  for  a  development  so  unexpected 
and  improbable,  the  company  stood  silently  gazing  at 
each  other  a  moment  with  looks  of  mingled  doubt  and 
astonishment;  when  Selden,  who  was  obviously  the  one 
alluded  to  by  the  confessant,  and  who  had  appeared 
thoughtful  and  abstracted  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
conversation,  now  turned  to  the  other,  and,  with  the  air 
of  one  trying  to  recall  some  indistinct  image  of  other  days, 
observed : 

"I  have  some  strange  dim  recollections — but  what  cir- 
cumstances can  you  name  to  warrant  the  belief  you  have 
just  expressed  ?  " 

"Why,  if  I  am  right,"  answered  Darrow,  "as  I  still 
think  I  am,  you  must  have  had,  for  many  years,  if  you 
have  not  now,  the  proof  on  your  person !  For  before  I 
parted  from  the  boy,  I  pricked  two  crossed  arrows,  with 
lasting  ink,  into  his  skin,  near  the  elbow." 

A  flash  of  joyous  intelligence  instantly  broke  over  the 
beaming  countenance  of  the  young  officer,  and,  as  quick 
as  thought,  his  arm  was  bared  and  held  exultingly  aloft, 
disclosing  the  still  visibly  impictured  arrows  to  the  aston- 
ished and  delighted  group  around  him. 

For  one  full  minute  not  a  word  was  uttered,  and  the 
mute  eloquence  of  the  speaking  countenance  alone  told 
the  springing  emotions  of  those  most  interested  in  this 
unexpected  but  happy  denouement. 

"  My  son ! "  at  length  convulsively  burst  from  the 
trembling  lips  of  the  overpowered  father:  "God  bless — 
bless — bless  " — and  his  voice  died  away  in  whimpering 
murmurs,  as  father,  son,  and  daughter  rushed  into  one 
long  sobbing  embrace. 

Aroused  in  a  short  time  from  this  absorbing  scene  of 
gushing  affections,  by  a  noise  from  the  wounded  man,  the 
company  turned  towards  him.  A  change  was  passing 
over  his  face,  and  with  the  low  muttered  words,  "Re- 
venged— REVENGED    OX   THE    DESTROYERS  OP  MY  SOUL  AND 

body,  at  last  I"  he  gave  one  long  quivering  gasp  and 
expired. 

On  the  proposal  of  Selden,  for  such,  for  convenience, 
we  will  for  the  present  continue  to  call  him,  the  company 
now  left  the  spot,  and  proceeded  to  an  open  and  unin- 
cumbered space  by  the  roadside,  whe-e  the  whole  band 


888  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  B0T8. 

were  soon  assembled  preparatory  to  a  final  removal  from 

the  scene  of  action. 

At  that  instant  a  band  of  twenty  armed  horsemen  burst 
suddenly  from  the  woods,  and  came  pouring,  in  gallant 
array,  along  the  road  from  the  south  toward  the  spot. 
From  their  equipments  and  general  appearance,  they  were 
instantly  discovered  to  be  a  detachment  of  mounted  rifle- 
men from  the  Continental  army,  headed  by  a  field  officer 
of  considerable  rank. 

"You  are  the  day  after  the  Fair,  my  hearties,"  gayly 
remarked  Captain  Hendee,  whose  overmastering  feelings 
at  the  recent  joyful  discovery  had  now  settled  down  into 
a  fine  flow  of  spirits.  "  But  I  am  glad  they  have  come, 
for  I  want  the  whole  world  to  know  how  proud  I  feel  of 
my  new-found  son." 

"Aye,  but  when  they  hear,"  replied  the  young  officer 
in  the  same  spirit,  "  that  we  owe  this  victory,  and  with  it 
our  lives,  solely  to  the  old  veteran's  plan  of  blowing  up 
the  enemy  by  wholesale,  ten  to  one,  they  don't  say,  that 
the  son  has  far  the  more  reason  to  pride  himself  in  the 
happy  discovery.  Seriously,  however,  the  arrival  of  these 
men,  at  this  moment,  is  most  opportune,  as  some  of  them, 
doubtless,  will  give  up  their  horses  to  convey  you,  the 
females  and  children  from  the  place.  But  what  ails  our 
merry  friend  Jones,  yonder?"  he  added,  pointing  to  the 
scout,  who  stood  in  the  foreground,  eagerly  and  with 
mouth  agape,  looking  at  the  advancing  cavalcade,  and 
holding  his  cap  in  his  hand,  as  if  about  to  hurl  it  into  the 
air,  in  some  joyous  outbreak. 

"  He  is  about  to  welcome  them  with  a  few  cheers,  1 
suspect,"  replied  the  Captain.  "  And  hang  me,  if  I  don't 
join  him  ;  for  if  I  don't  give  vent  to  my  feelings  in  some 
way,  I  believe  my  old  broken  shell  of  a  heart  will  burst 
for  very  joy,  like  some  old  rusty  howitzer,  charged  to  the 
muzzle  with  gunpowder." 

"  No,  no,  father,"  rejoined  the  other  good-humoredly, 
"joy  rarely  proves  as  explosive  as  that,  I  imagine.  But 
I  must  forward  to  attend  to  this  reception  myself — Jones," 
he  continued,  advancing  to  the  front,  "let  us  ascertain 
their  object,  and  a  little  more  exactly  who  they  are,  be- 
fore we  make  up  our  mouths  for  much  of  a  hurra  on  the 
occasion." 


THE  GREEN1  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  889 

«  Well  that's  jest  what  I'm  at,  Captain,"  said  the  scout ; 
"and  I  calkerlate  I  have  about  two-thirds  found  out  both 
them  particulars  already:  for,  if  twenty-four  hours  ago, 
1  had  seen  a  chap  riding  towards  me,  with  the  make,  and 
bearing  of  that  officer,  who  sits  so  splendid  in  his  saddle 
jronder,  I  would  have  sworn,  with  a  quarter  of  this  bother- 
ing, that  it  was— and,  by  the  living  Lazarus!  I'll  swear 
it  is  now— so  here's  hurra  for  theunshot  Colonel!  hurra! 
hurra !  "  he  added,  throwing  his  cap  thirty  feet  in  the 
air,  and  leaping,  in  the  ecstasy  of  his  joyous  emotions,_a 
yard  from  the  earth  at  each  of  his  stentorian  shouts ;  in 
the  last  of  which  he  was  heartily  joined  by  the  whole 
band  of  his  delighted  comrades,  as  their  beloved  com- 
mander, the  heroic  Warrington,  whom  they  had  mourned 
as  slain,  now  came  dashing  up  to  the  spot,  bowing  low  in 
token  of  acknowledgment  of  this  flattering  mark  of  their 
esteem. 

"  Had  you  dropped  down  from  the  clouds  before  our 
eyes,  Colonel  Warrington,"  said  Selden,  after  the  noise 
and  bustle  of  this  enthusiastic  reception  had  a  little  sub- 
sided, "your  presence  could  have  scarcely  more  surprised 
us." 

"  Indeed ! " 

"  Yes,  you  was  reported  to  have  fallen  in  the  last  mo- 
ments of  the  battle." 

«  I  must  then  have  been  mistaken,  I  think,  for  Colonel 
Francis." 

"Has  that  noble  fellow  then  indeed  been  added  to  the 
honored  catalogue  of  martyrs  in  our  glorious  cause  V 

"I  grieve  to  say  it. — He  fell   covered   with  wounds, 
bravely  fighting  at  the  head  of  his  regiment." 
"  But  you,  and  your  men  ?  " 

"  We  yet  mostly  live  to  give  Burgoyne  a  thrashing. 
But  here,  overpowered  with  numbers,  by  my  own  orders, 
we  broke,  scattered  and  fled,  to  meet  again  at  Manchester. 
Reaching  Rutland  last  night,  and  guessing  at  your  course, 
and  at  vour  danger,  I  collected  this  small  force,  and 
hastened  to  the  rescue.  And  now,  Captain,  for  your  re- 
port, which,  with  these  evidences  of  a  conflict  before  me, 
I  should  dread  to  hear,  but  for  the  merry  looks  of  the 
men,  and  the  sunny  faces  of  my  fair  friends  whom  I  notice 
yonder  in  the  rear" 


390  TEE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  All  in  good  time,  my  dear  Colonel ;  but  come,  first  go 
along  with  me,"  said  Selden  with  a  significant  and  slightly 
mischievous  smile,  as  he  took  the  arm  of  his  superior, 
and  urged  him  forward  to  the  spot  where  the  interesting 
^roup  to  which  he  had  just  alluded  still  stood,  in  the 
agitation  of  their  joyful  surprise,  with  sparkling  eyes  ana 
happy  and  fluttering  hearts,  eagerly  waiting  to  greet 
him. 

But  over  the  touching  and  tender  scene  that  followed, 
marked  as  it  was  by  the  reuniting  of  long  estranged 
hearts,  like  the  rushing  together  of  kindred  waters,  the 
surprising  announcement  of  Seidell's  recently  discovered 
relationship,  and  the  mad  pranks  of  the  excited  old  vet- 
eran, now  clamoring  for  the  curses  of  Warrington  on  his 
own  head,  for  his  blindness  and  folly,  and  now  eagerly 
bestowing  the  hand  of  his  daughter,  as  a  compensation 
and  reward,  with  many  a  sob-broken  ejaculation  for  bless- 
ings on  the  happy  couple — over  all  this  we  will  drop  the 
curtain,  not  caring  to  trust  the  pen  to  vie  with  the 
reader's  outstripping  fancy  in  filling  up  the  picture. 

Before  another  hour  had  elapsed  the  whole  were 
mounted  and  in  motion,  on  their  unmolested  way  to  the 
older  settlements  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Grants. 


CONCLUSION. 

The  rolling  seasons  had  nearly  completed  their  annual 
round  since  the  stirring  incidents,  which  we  last  narrated, 
transpired,  and  nature  was  again  enrobing  herself  in  the 
leafy  glories  of  summer.  The  great  struggle  on  the  north- 
ern frontiers  was  over.  The  battle  of  Bennington  had 
been  fought  and  won,  immortalizing  the  name  of  the  Ro- 
man  Stark,  and  covering  with  deathless  laurels  the  brave 
Green  Mountain  Boys.  The  whole  of  that  proud  army, 
mdeed,  that  swept,  the  last  season,  so  vauntingly  along 
these  desolated  shores,  had  felt  the  vengeful  arm  of  young 
Freedom,  and  withered  at  the  touch.  The  inhabitants  on 
the  borders  of  Champlain,  who  had  fled  before  the  tempest 
of  war,  had  mostly  returned,  and  were  now  in  possession 
of  their  unmolested  homes.    The  seat  of  their  country's 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  391 

strife  was  removed  to  a  distance.  And  the  husbandman 
was  again  following  bis  plough  in  the  field ;  the  peaceful 
sounds  of  tbe  axemen  were  beard  in  tbe  woods,  and  the 
hunter  once  more  roamed  bis  deer-trod  bills  unsuspicious 
of  hostile  ambush. 

At  the  pleasant,  and  no  longer  desolate  cottage  of 
Captain  Hendee,  a  company,  evidently  much  larger  than 
tbe  usual  family  circle  were  assembled.  Tbe  old  veteran, 
as  was  formerly  his  wont,  was  sitting  in  bis  easj-chair 
before  one  of  tbe  open  windows  of  the  parlor,  solacing 
himself  with  bis  old  companion,  the  pipe.  Tbe  other 
window  was  occupied  by  a  fine-looking  military  person, 
now  in  tbe  full  bloom  of  vigorous  manhood,  richly  dressed 
in  tbe  lace-trimmed  uniform,  and  tbe  surmounted  badges 
of  a  field  officer  in  the  Continental  army  ;  while  by  his  side 
sat  a  peerless  girl,  whose  simple,  but  rich  and  tasteful 
array  of  spotless  white,  surmounted  by  tbe  emblematic 
rose  of  the  same  color,  instead  of  the  dumb,  unspeaking 
jewel,  told  of  bridal  preparation.  They  were  gazing  out 
upon  the  glittering  expanse  of  the  breeze-ruffled  waters 
of  the  Lake,  and  the  gratified  eye  of  the  officer  was  rest- 
ing on  the  bright  folds  of  his  country's  flag,  which  was 
again  proudly  waving  in  the  distance  over  the  walls  of 
tbe  opposite  fortress  ;  while  the  delicately  blended  fond- 
ness and  respect,  that  marked  the  blissful  look  of  each, 
and  the  tender  pathos  of  their  low  intermingling  voices, 
as  they  exchanged  the  occasional  remark,  betokened  the 
presence  of  mutual  confidence  and  love.  There  was 
another  maiden  in  the  room,  scarcely  less  beautiful  than 
the  one  just  mentioned,  but  though  arrayed,  like  her  fail 
companion,  in  the  bridal  garb,  yet  she  sat  unmated  and 
alone,  now  listlessly  running  over  the  leaves  of  a  little 
volume  in  her  hand,  and  now  anxiously  and  impatiently 
glancing  through  the  window  along  one  road  to  the  south 
as  if  expecting  the  appearance  of  some  one  from  that 
quarter.  The  only  other  person  at  present  in  this  apart- 
ment, with  whom  the  reader  has  been  made  acquainted, 
was  a  modest,  staid-looking  female,  who,  though  comely, 
and  not  greatly  faded,  had  yet  evidently  outlived,  by 
many  years,  the  freshness  and  bloom  of  beauty's  most 
favored  period.  She  was  sitting  quietly  in  a  corner, 
partly  screened  from  tbe  rest  of  the  company  by  the  door 


?»92        THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

that  swung  inward.  She,  also,  had  been  coinpanionless. 
and  had  not,  like  the  restless  fair  one  last  described,  ap- 
peared to  expect  to  be  otherwise.  But  at  this  moment, 
a  singularly  tall,  woodsman-looking  fellow  came  stooping 
through  the  doorway  from  the  adjoining  room,  where 
part  of  the  company  still  remained  ;  when  after  throwing 
a  half-sheepish,  half  mischievous  look  around  him,  appar- 
ently to  see  if  his  movement  was  particularly  noticed,  he 
sidled  around  the  swinging  door,  with  a  sort  of  hesitating 
stealthy  air,  and  sunk  by  degrees  into  a  chair  beside  the 
demure  looking  damsel  of  whom  we  were  speaking. 

"Well,  now,  if  this  ain't  a  curious  fix!  "  were  his  first 
words — "  I  vow  to  Never-come-Jack — a  sort  of  Saturday 
in  the  afternoon-chap  that  we  used  to  swear  by  in  the 
army — if  it  ain't  too  bad!  Don't  you  think  so,  now 
honestly,  Miss  Ruth?" 

"  What  is  it  that  you  complain  of  as  so  bad,  Mr. 
Jones?"  replied  the  girl,  with  a  good-natured  and  en- 
couraging smile,  which  seemed  instantly  to  reassure  her 
somewhat  flustered  companion,  as  he  replied: 

"What  do  I  complain  of? — Why,  to  be  invited,  as  I 
was,  by  the  Colonel  and  Alma  there,  to  be  here  at  two 
o'clock,  to  see  three  weddings,  whennow«it  is  well  along- 
towards  night,  and  one  bridegroom  don't  get  on  accord- 
ing to  agreement,  and  no  parson  come  to  fix  them  that 
are  here  and  ready  for  it.  Now,  I  like  to  see  folks  put 
out  of  their  misery  in  some  kind  of  season,  and  so  do  the 
rest  of  them,  I've  a  notion:  only  jest  look  at  the  old  Cap- 
tain yonder !  lie  is  getting  out  of  sorts  at  the  delay, 
rather  rapid,  a  body  would  guess,  by  the  manner  he  Is 
puffing  away  at  his  old  comforter  there.  And  there  is 
the  Scotch  bird,  too;  may  I  miss  my  next  aim  on  Old 
Trusty,  if  I  don't  believe  she'll  fly  away,  if  Major  Selden, 
as  he  has  now  got  to  be — Major  Ilendee,  I  s'pose  you'll 
call  him  here — don't  come  soon." 

"  Jessy  does,  indeed,  appear  rather  uneasy,"  observed 
the  other,  "and  I  really  wonder  Edward  don't  come, 
myself.  He  sent  us  word  that  he  expected  to  get  the 
Snerwood  property  all  settled,  so  as  to  start  from  Albany 
yesterday  morning.  But  you  said  three  weddings,  didn't 
you  ?  " 

"Three,  did  t  say,  Ruth?"  said  Pete,  with  waggish 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  893 

gravity.     "  Well,  two  then — that  is,  if  there  ain't  raaly 
any  chance  to  be  another,  no  way." 

«  Why,  what  other  could  there  be  ?  "  said  Ruth,  quite 
innocently. 

"  Well,"  now,  I  can't  exactly  say,  but  I  was  thinking 
it  was  rather  a  pity  there  shouldn't  be  another  match 
worked  up  here  somehow?"  replied  the  scout,  with  a 
look  at  the  other  so  significant,  that  it  brought  the  blood 
into  her  cheeks.  "  You  hold  to  save  time  and  expense, 
don't  you?" 

"  Why,  it  is  well  enough  to  think  of  that  in  some  cases, 
perhaps,"  muttered  the  doubtful  and  confused  girl. 

"Then,  suppose,  when  the  priest  comes,"  said  the 
other,  with  a  roguish  squint  at  her  glowing  cheeks  and 
downcast  looks,  "  suppose  you  jest  stand  up  with— with 
— with  old  Captain  Hendee  to  be  noosed  the  same  time 
his  children  are  ?  " 

"O,  nonsense!  Mr.  Jones,"  replied  the  girl,  greatly 
relieved,  and  yet  evidently  disappointed  at  this  turn  in 
the  scout's  remarks,  which  she  supposed  were  to  terminate 
in  proposing  one  much  nearer  home — "  Captain  Hendee  I 
why,  he  is  old  enough  to  be  my  father!  Besides,  he 
would  not  have  me." 

«  Yes,  he  would." 

"No,  he  wouldn't." 

"  Well,  if  he  should  flummux  at  such  a  chance,  I  know 
of  a  chap— and  not  too  old,  neither— who'll  agree  to  take 
his  place." 

"  Really,  Mr.  Jones,  I  think  you  must  be  trying  to  trifle 
with  me?" 

"Mayhap  you're  mistaken,  now,"  said  Jones,  wr.th  the 
air  of  one  about  to  make  some  hazardous  push,  but 
looking  keenly  about  for  some  chance  to  secure  his 
retreat. 

"Then  how  am  1  to  consider  what  you  say?'  asked 
the  other,  seriously. 

«  Why— why,"  said  Pete,  hesitating,  but  finding  himself 
at  a  point  where  he  must  back  out  entirely,  or  proceed 
directly  with  his  object,  he  added,  with  a  sort  of  desperatu 
resolution — "  yes,  1  will — so  here  goes  for  dead  ruin — ycf 
may  consider  it,  Ruth,  as  good  and  earnest  an  offer  a* 
ever  a  man  stuck  an  axe  in  a  tree." 


394  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"  Why,  surely,  Mr.  Jones ! — this  is  so  sudden — so  unex* 
pected,  that  you  cannot  expect  me  now,  as  you  have  nevei 
before  spoken  to  me  on  the  subject " 

"  No  ;  but  I've  looked  at  you  on  the  subject,  Ruth ;  and 
that  an't  all — I  have  thought  on  the  subject,  and  that, 
too,  ever  since  I  left  off  sogering,  after  we  had  used  up 
that  old  trooper,  Burgoyne,  last  fall.  But  I  didn't  know 
how  to  get'  at  the  bothering  business.  And  now  I  have 
got  at  it,  I  want  to  do  it  all  up,  while  I've  got  the  knack 
of  it.  Now,  all  I've  to  say  for  myself,  by  way  of  recom- 
mendation, is  jest  only  this — I  have  a  farm,  and  can  love 
like  a  two-year-old.  And,  if  you  can  go  it  on  that,  let  us 
agree  on  the  spot,  and  go  off  with  the  rest." 

"Impossible,  Mr.  Jones — that  is  now — if — if  I  had  a 
little  time  for  reflection — perhaps " 

"  Good !  grand !  glorious  !  I'll  give  you  time,  till  the 
parson  comes — a  good  half  hour,  I'll  warrant  you,"  ex- 
claimed the  woodsman,  leaping  up,  in  his  ecstasy,  and, 
with  a  sudden  bolt  through  the  door,  bounding  off  into 
the  fields,  and  giving  vent  to  his  delighted  feelings  in  his 
old  chorus,  "Trol,  lol,  lol,  de  larly  !  " 

At  that  moment  a  horseman  rode  hastily  into  the  yara, 
leaped  from  his  saddle,  and,  with  a  few  light  and  joyous 
bounds,  landed  on  the  threshold. 

"  My  brother ! "  exclaimed  Alma,  rising  and  rushing 
to  the  door. 

"My  son,  God  bless  you!"  said  the  Captain,  hobbling 
forward,  with  extended  hand.  "  But  how  came  you  to 
be  lagging  at  such  a  juncture  as  this,  you  truant?" 

"O,  Edward!  "  cried  Jessy,  bursting  from  an  adjoining 
room,  to  which  she  had  a  few  moments  before  retired 
"0,  Edward!"  repeated  the  joyful  but  wayward  girl, 
flying  to  the  open  arms  of  her  betrothed,  now  dashing 
her  hands  about  her  to  clear  her  way  among  the  advanc 
ing  group,  and  now  shaking  her  slender  finger  aloft,  in 
affected  menace,  as  she  went,  "now,  if  I  don't  punish  you 
for  this,  sir !  Back !  back !  all  of  you,  till  I  deal  with 
the  villain  for  his  conduct." 

"  Fairly  a  prisoner,  sir ;  you  may  as  well  surrender, 
Major,"  gayly  observed  Warrington,  to  the  laughing 
young  officer,  now  enclosed  on  every  side  by  besieging 
friends. 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  395 

"Ay,  ay,  Colonel,"  blithely  replied  the  latter;  "but 
[  shall  be  upon  my  parol  in  a  moment,  I  think  ;  when  I 
will  pay  my  respects — I  have  a  glad  secret  for  your  ear, 
Warrington." 

"  A  secret !  a  secret  to  be  kept  from  us,  at  this  hour !  " 
exclaimed  both  of  the  girls,  at  once,  summoning  a  storm 
of  affected  indignation  to  their  pretty  brows. 

"  Ah  !  you  little  tyrannizers !  "  said  the  Major,  jocosely, 
"  you  are  wise  to  make  the  most  of  your  power  now ; 
for  your  reign  is  short.  I  saw  the  parson  falling  into  the 
road  behind  me,  about  a  mile  back." 

The  last  intimation  seemeci  to  produce  an  instant  effect 
on  the  young  officer's  fair  assailants.  And  releasing  him 
at  once,  they  fled,  in  maidenly  dismay,  to  their  private 
apartment,  to  compose  and  prepare  themselves  for  the 
happy,  though  half -dreaded  crisis. 

"Now,  my  son,  tell  us,  in  a  word,  what  success  you 
have  met  with  at  Albany,"  said  Captain  Hendee,  turning 
to  his  son,  as  the  girls  disappeared. 

"Very  fair:  the  business  is  all  definitely  settled  at 
last." 

"Right  glad  to  hear  that;  but  first,  I  am  curious  to 
know  with  what  kind  of  a  face  that  black-hearted  imp 
of  mischief,  Jake  Sherwood,  met  you,  after  all  that  has 
happened  ?  '5 

"  It  was  not  till  after  many  fruitless  efforts,  and  a  long 
negotiation,  carried  on  with  him  by  a  go-between  of  his 
own  kidney,  that  he  could  be  induced  to  come  from  his 
lurking  places,  to  face  me  at  all.  And  when  he  did,  it 
was  with  the  same  fawning  and  cringing,  the  same  dis- 
sembling and  falsehood,  that  has  marked  his  whole 
career." 

"  And  what  kind  of  a  treaty  did  you  at  length  conclude 
with  the  arch  villain  ?" 

"Better  than  he  had  any  reason  to  expect  from  those 
who  had  both  the  right  and  the  power  on  their  side :  for, 
after  taking  from  the  estate,  that  part  which  Jake  had 
counted  as  his  own,  by  Uncle's  will,  when  I  was  con- 
sidered as  disposed  of,  and  which,  of  coarse,  became 
mine,  on  establishing  my  identity  as  your  son— and  after 
deducting  also  the  legacies,  which  old  Sherwood's  con- 
science wrung  from  him,  in  favor  of  you  and  Alma,  to- 


396  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

gether  with  the  sums,  which  the  indefatigable  Vander. 
pool  had  found  evidence  of  having  been  embezzled  by  the 
old  man  out  of  your  property — even  after  counting  your 
legacies  as  so  much  restitution — after  deducting  all  these, 
there  would  have  been  a  mere  pittance  in  equity,  and 
nothing,  probably,  m  law,  left  for  the  miscreant.  And 
as  he  had  been  apprised  of  this  by  Vanderpool,  whom  he 
could  neither  intimidate  nor  corrupt,  he  chose  to  throw 
himself  on  my  mercy,  rather  than  contend  with  us  in 
law." 

"  Well,  as  skilfully  as  this  web  of  iniquity  was  woven, 
it  is  all  unravelled,  then,  at  last.  But  what  did  you 
finally  allow  him?" 

"  A  thousand  pounds ;  for,  while  I  despised,  I  could 
not  but  pity  the  abject  wretch.  He  signed  acquittances, 
received  his  portion,  in  money  and  drafts,  and,  the  same 
day,  as  I  accidentally  learned,  started  off  to  join  his  Tory 
brethren  at  the  south." 

The  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  the  arrival 
of  the  parson,  who  had  scarcely  been  ushered  into  the 
house,  before  yet  another  guest  was  announced.  This 
was  the  Amazon  widow,  who  now  rode  into  the  yard,  at- 
tended by  Neshobee,  each  having  a  brace  .of  her  hardy 
urchins,  disposed  of  behind  and  before,  on  the  cruppers 
and  necks  of  the  Captain's  thus  trebly-burdened  horses, 
which  had  been  kindly  sent  for  that  purpose  early  in  the 
morning. 

"  Not  at  the  eleventh  hour  after  all,"  said  the  woman, 
as  with  stately  tread  she  came  sweeping  into  the  room, 
and  gave  her  hand  successively  to  each  of  the  assembled 
guests,  who  rose,  and  with  looks  of  mingled  cordiality 
and  respect,  advanced  to  meet  her.  Well,  I  am  gratified 
to  find  I  am  not  too  late  to  witness  the  ceremony,  though 
another  motive  mainly  prompted  my  coming." 

"Another  motive?"  said  the  Captain,  "what  might 
that  be  ?" 

"  Gratitude,"  rejoined  the  widow  feelingly — "  to  offer  in 
person  the  thanks  and  blessing  of  the  widow  and  father- 
less to  these  brave  and  generous  young  officers,  for  their 
undeserved  gift  of  fifty  pounds." 

"Not  undeserved,  especially  from  us,  permit  me  to  say, 
Mrs.  Story,"  replied  Major  Hendee.     "  And  our  only  feai 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  397 

was,  that  it  would  not  even  requite  you  for  the  losses 
you  sustained  on  our  account  on  that  fearful  night  which 
none  of  us  can  ever  forget." 

"Not  requite  me?  O,  more — doubly  so,"  replied  the 
woman,  mastering  her  grateful  emotions,  and  resuming 
her  naturally  free-and-easy  manner  :  "  Why,  gentlemen, 
if  you  would  but  visit  us  there  now,  you  would  see  a  new 
house  worth  two  of  the  old  one ;  flourishing  crops,  and  a 
well-provisioned  and  happy  family — and  all  from  your 
bounty." 

"  Our  pittance,  if  you  please,"  observed  the  Colonel, 
" and  that  too,  under  the  management  of  one,  who,  I 
must  say,  of  all  women " 

"Has  the  least  patience  with  a  flatterer,  Colonel," 
interrupted  the  widow  with  good-natured  bluntness, 
jumping  up  and  going  to  the  window,  as  something  seemed 
suddenly  to  occur  to  her  mind.  "  Now,  I  should  like 
to  know,  if  you  gentlemen  can  tell  me,"  she  resumed, 
after  gazing  out  on  the  lake  a  moment,  "  I  should  like  to 
know  the  meaning  of  the  great  stir  I  noticed  over  at  the 
fort,  as  I  came  down  the  road :  cue  would  think  they 
were  preparing  for  a  battle." 

"We  heard  a  firing  in  the  direction  of  Ticonderoga  an 
hour  or  two  ago,  which  we  could  not  account  for,  but 
have  noticed  nothing  unusual  over  here,  I  believe,"  said 
Captain  Hendee,  looking  inquiringly  at  the  two  offi- 
cers. 

"Ah!  "  your  promised  secret,  Major?"  cried  Warring, 
ton,  perceiving  a  knowing  and  mysterious  smile  upon  the 
countenance  of  the  other. 

"You  shall  have  it  now — the  rest  of  the  company  will 
know  it  soon,"  replied  the  Major,  approaching  his  superior 
and  whispering  in  his  ear. 

"  God  bless  you  for  the  news ! "  exclaimed  the  Colonel, 
with  a  look  of  joyful  surprise.  "  But  where  did  you 
meet  him?" 

"At  Bennington,  where  he  arrived  but  three  days  ago 
amidst  the  roar  of  guns  and  the  shouts  of  a  rejoicing 
people.  I  persuaded  him  to  come  on  with  me,  as  he  did, 
to  Skenesboro';  when  he  took  the  water,  while  I  came  by 
land,  having  first  despatched  a  runner  to  notify  the  garri- 
sons at  the  two  posts  of  his  approach." 


398  TEE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

"Heaven  be  praised  !"  rejoined  Warrington,  "and  let 
the  Green  Mountains  rejoice !  " 

•'They  will,  soon;  for  yonder  be  conies,  by  Jove!'* 
exclaimed  the  Major,  eagerly  pointing  out  upon  the  lake. 

At  that  instant  the  house  shook  and  trembled  to  the 
reverberating  roar  of  a  twenty-four  pounder,  belching 
forth  a  cloud  of  fire  and  smoke  from  the  gray  walls  of 
the  opposite  fortress. 

The  surprised  and  startled  company  instant! y  rushed 
into  the  yard.  A  light  sail-boat  had  just  made  her 
appearance  on  the  lake  from  the  south,  and  with  be!ly= 
ing  canvas,  was  now  scudding  rapidly  before  the  fresh- 
ening breeze,  with  her  course  evidently  let  for  the  fort. 
As  she  neared,  a  tall,  erect,  military  figure  appeared  con- 
spicuously standing  on  the  forecastle,  with  folded  arms, 
gazing  steadily  forward  towards  the  works,  around  whose 
ramparts  were  seen  the  long  rows  of  the  expectant  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  garrison  ;  while  at  momentary  inter- 
vals, came  the  welcoming  peal  of  the  deep-mouthed  gun 
At  length  the  sails  of  the  vessel  were  furled,  and  she 
swept  round  and  lay  to,  directly  abreast  of  the  fort , 
which,  the  next  instant,  was  suddenly  enveloped  in  a 
springing  cloud  of  smoke,  while  the  tall  forest  around 
nodded  to  the  united  roar  ot  a  dozen  cannon,  among  the 
broken  echoes  of  which,  as  they  rolled  from  shore  to 
shore  and  died  away  among  the  far-responding  mount- 
ains, was  heard  the  noisy  salute  of  drums,  and  the  reit- 
erated cheers  of  the  soldiery,  once  more  making  the 
welkin  ring  with  the  name  of  "  Ethan  Allen!  " 

After  a  brief  interval  of  silence,  the  same  little  craft 
was  seen,  with  hoisted  sails,  emerging  from  the  lifting 
clouds  of  smoke,  and  making  her  way  directly  across  the 
lake  towards  the  cottage.  And  in  ten  minutes  more  the 
hero  of  the  Green  Mountains,  unexpectedly  returned 
from  a  long  and  painful  captivity,  was  received,  and 
ushered  into  the  house  amidst  the  warm  and  unfeigned 
congratulations  of  the  rejoicing  party. 

"Well,  Colonel  Allen,"  said  Captain  Hendee,  scanning 
the  thin  and  worn  person  of  the  other,  as  they  all  became 
seated  in  the  room,  "they  have  rather  worsted  you  in  your 
captivity,  I  perceive;  you  are  now  hardly  the  staunch 
and  iron-bound  fellow  you  were  three  years  ago,  when 


~     THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  399 

eight  o*  ten  armed  hirelings  came  here  to  seize  you  as  a 
York  outlaw,  but  were  fairly  cowed  out  of  the  attempt 
till  they  supposed  you  asleep,  and  a  little  worse  off  than 
that  too,  perhaps." 

"Aha!  my  old  friend,  do  you  remember  that  foolish 
scrape?"  replied  Allen.  "No,  no,  Captain,  not  the  man 
I  was  then,"  he  added,  glancing  over  the  huge  raw  hones 
of  his  shrunken  frame  with  a  melancholy  smile;  "no, 
the  British  could  never  forgive  me  for  taking  old  Ti. ;  so 
with  characteristic  magnanimity  to  a  fallen  foe,  they  took 
their  revenge  by  battering,  hewing,  hacking,  "and  starv- 
ing the  old  body,  till  there  is  scarcely  enough  left  of  it  to 
furnish  a  habitable  tenement  for  the  soul,  which  remains 
as  whole  and  sound  as  ever ;  for  that,  thank  God,  they 
could  neither  kill  nor  bribe." 

"Bribe!  bribe!  did  they  really  try  to  do  that?"  ex- 
claimed the  young  officers,  laughing  at  the  thought  of  an 
attempt  to  buy  up  Ethan  Allen. 

"To  be  sure,  did  the  infernal  fools  !  "  said  Allen,  "  and 
that  more  than  once ;  though  the  last,  and  perhaps  the 
best  offer  I  ever  had  to  induce  me  to  damn  myself,  that 
is,  to  become  one  of  them,  was  made  me  by  a  high  digni- 
tary of  the  crown,  who,  in  behalf  of  his  prince,  as  he  said, 
offered  me  nearly  half  the  lands  in  Vermont,  if  I  would 
enter  his  service  against  my  countrymen ! — the  Christless 
knave!  It  was  well  for  him  that  I  was  handcuffed,  at  the 
time." 

"  And  what  answer  did  you  give  him  ?  "  asked  War- 
rington, curiously. 

"Answer?"  replied  Allen,  smoothing  his  dark  brows, 
which  had  become  fierce  and  stormy  at  the  remembered 
insult,  "what  answer?  why,  I  told  the  royal  ape  to  go 
and  tell  his  master  that  he  reminded  me,  in  his  offer  to 
give  me  lands  in  America,  of  a  certain  other  prince,  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  who  took  the  Saviour  up  into  a  high 
mountain,  and  showing  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  offered  to  give  him  the  whole  of  them,  if  he  would 
fall  down  and  worship  him, — when  the  fact  was,  the  poor 
devil  had  not  a  single  foot  of  land  on  earth  to  give!" 

The  subject  was  here  dropped  by  common  consent; 
when,  after  a  brief  pause,  Major  Hendee  turned  a  signifi- 
cant look  upon  his  father,  who  seemed  readily  to  under- 


400  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

stand  what  was  now  expected  of  him,  and  he  accordingly 
observed : — 

*«  I  suppose  you  have  been  apprised,  Colonel  Allen,  of 
the  happy  occasion,  upon  which,  after  all  our  troubles, 
we  have  been  permitted  to  assemble?" 

"  I  have,  sir,"  gallantly  answered  the  other,  "and  I  felt, 
that  my  peculiar  notions,  relative  to  the  certainty  of  the 
earthly  rewards  of  bravery  and  virtue,  were  strikingly 
confirmed,  when  I  learned  that  my  two  friends  here  were 
about  to  draw  such  rich  prizes  in  the  lottery  of  life." 

"  Ah !  Colonel  Allen,"  exclaimed  Jessy  archly,  "  you, 
too,  caught  playing  the  flatterer?  I  had  thought  well 
enough  of  you  to  believe  you  an  exception  to  the  gener- 
ality of  men,  in  that  respect.  But  I'll  expose  you,  my 
brave  Colonel ! — What  did  you  say  and  predict  at  the 
time  you  captured  Ticonderoga,  respecting  the  intimacy 
which  you  were  then  accidentally  led  to  suspect  existed 
between  your  then  Lieutenant  Selden  and  Colonel  Reed's 
daughter?" 

"Why  the  deuce  is  to  pay  ! "  cried  Allen,  taken  rather 
aback  by  his  fair  antagonist — "  there  has  been  treason 
here,  somewhere.  I  recollect  something  about  my  mis- 
givings in  the  matter.  But  I  am  not  a  going  to  be  tricked 
out  of  my  compliment,  at  all  events :  for  if  the  daughter 
of  a  British  Colonel  has  the  independence  to  marry  a 
Yankee  rebel,  she  must  be,  to  him,  at  least,  a  prize  richly 
worth  the  winning." 

"  She  is  not  married  yet,"  observed  Captain  Hendee, 
with  well  assumed  seriousness :  "  for  before  that  is  suf- 
fered to  take  place,  I,  who  stand  as  a  sort  of  sponsor  for 
the  girl,  must  be  heard  in  the  business  :  and  to  this  end, 
I  beg  leave  to  read  a  little  from  my  letter  of  instructions 
from  her  father ;  which  I  have  never  before  made  known," 
he  added,  producing  a  letter,  from  which  he  proceeded  to 
read  to  his  surprised  and  wondering  auditors  the  follow- 
ing extract : 

"  Wi'  regard  to  that  wayward  bairn  o'  mine,  an'  that 
Mr.  Nabody,  her  rebel  lover,  as  I  became  satisfied  he  was, 
\t  is  out  o'  the  question  I  should  be  consentin'  to  a  match 
of  sic  a  sort.  Na,  she  must  be  cured,  an'  in  some  sic  way 
as  I  named  to  you.  An'  that  being  done,  then  her  old 
lorer,  Major  Skene,  will  come  in  for  &h  easy  conquest 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  401 

But  in  your  moves  to  this  object,  let  me  again  caution 
you  to  beware  how  you  forbid  this  intimacy ;  for  ever 
since  mother  Eve's  dido  wi'  the  apple,  the  moment  you 
forbid,  the  Diel  taks  the  woman." 

"  Father,  how  is  this,  and  at  this  late  hour?"  exclaimed 
the  astonished  son,  glancing  from  the  former  to  the  no 
less  surprised  girl  at  his  side,  who  also  began  to  open  her 
lips  in  remonstrance,  when,  detecting  a  lurking  smile  on 
the  old  gentleman's  countenance,  she  stopped  short. 

:i  Perhaps  we  may  as  well  read  a  passage  from  another 
letter  of  a  more  recent  date,"  said  the  Captain,  opening 
another  paper,  from  which,  after  slyly  enjoying  the  per- 
plexity of  the  party  interested,  a  moment,  he  read, — 

"  So  you  sly  old  Yankee,  you  an'  Jessy  hae  contrived 
to  checkmate  me  at  last !  This  comes  o'  leaving  a 
daughter  in  a  land  o'  rebellion  :  nathless  I  canna  but  say, 
I  regret  that  circumstances  will  not  permit  me  to  be 
present  to  take  my  stoup  on  the  merry  occasion,  which 
you  say,  wi'  my  consent,  is  to  tak  place  early  the 
coming  summer:  weel,  you  may  tell  the  younker,  wi'out 
hinting  my  good  opinion  o'  him  as  aboon  written,  that, 
upon  the  whole,  I  will  own  him  as  a  son-in-law,  provided 
he  will  tak  the  crap  o'  wild  oats  which  the  chick,  frae  sa 
plentifu'  a  sowing,  must  now  hae  ready  for  the  reaping, 
as  a  portion  o'  the  wife's  dowry." 

"  Gad !  I  begin  to  like  the  humorous  old  fellow,"  said 
Allen,  "and  that  stoup  which  he  regrets  he  cannot  take 
with  us,  I  will  drink  to  his  health  as  an  extra  bumper  after 
the  ceremonj7.  Though  before  that  takes  place  I  would 
ask  if  there  are  no  more  cases  which  might  be  settled  at 
this  time?" 

"  We  know  of  none,"  replied  the  Captain  and  his  son, 
to  whom  the  last  part  of  the  speaker's  remarks  had  been 
addressed  in  an  undertone. 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  rejoined  the  former,  "  I 
have  been  looking  about  me  a  little,  and  it  strikes  me  that 
there  are  materials  enough,  at  least.  If  you  will  make 
me  master  of  the  ceremonies,  with  power  to  draw  out 
the  parties  ? " 

"Certainly,    certainly,   Colonel,"    replied    the  others, 
laughing,  but  shaking  their  heads  dubiously  at  the  well 
understood  suggestion. 
z6 


402  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOTS. 

"  No  faith,  eh  ?  Well,  there  is  nothing  like  trying, 
rejoined  Allen.  "Jones,"  he  continued,  now  turning 
round  to  the  scout,  who  had  resumed  his  seat  by  the 
side  of  Ruth,  '-  Jones,  you  have  been  a  brave  fellow — how 
is  it  that  you  are  not  to  be  rewarded,  at  this  time,  as 
well  as  the  rest?" 

"  Well,  I've  jest  been  thinking,  Colonel,"  replied  Jones, 
screwing  up  his  phiz,  now  queerly  streaked  with  blushes, 
"that  it  was  rather  a  hard  case,  considering,  that  I 
shouldn't  have  any  share  in  the  loaves  and  fishes.  But 
the  fact  is,  that  the  fish  I've  had  in  my  eye,"  he  added, 
casting  a  sheepish  glance  at  Ruth,  "won't  quite  say 
whether  I'm  to  be  in  luck  to-day,  or  not." 

"Aha!  just  as  I  thought.  But  she  shall  say,"  cried 
Allen,  advancing  a  step  towards  the  confused  and  blush- 
ing maiden,  on  whom  all  eyes  were  now  turned  in  sur« 
prise,  at  this  development  of  a  courtship  so  little  ex« 
pected  ;  "  she  shall  give  you  an  answer,  at  least,  or,  by 
the  wrath  of  Cupid!  she  shall  be  punished  for  her  cruelty 
by  running  a  kissing  gauntlet  through  the  company. 
And  I'll  have  the  first  one,"  he  added,  still  further  ad* 
vancing,  as  if  to  suit  the  action  to  the  word. 

"It  is  so  ridiculous!"  stammered  the  shrinking  Ruth. 

"  Perhaps  you  had  rather  say  yes  to  my  worthy  friend, 
here  ?  "  said  the  former,  his  lip  slightly  curling  with  a 
sportive  smile. 

"  I  should — that  is,  I — I  should,"  replied  the  girl,  drop- 
ping her  head  in  confusion. 

"Do  you  see  that?"  exultingly  said  Allen — "I  have 
succeeded  in  spite  of  your  faithlessness :  nor  do  I  believe 
my  triumphs  need  end  even  here." 

"  Ah !  I  will  knock  under,  Colonel,"  observed  the 
Captain,  laughing. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  responded  the  Major,  gayly,  "  we  must  now 
acknowledge  your  prowess  in  the  court  of  Cupid,  as  well 
as  in  the  camp  of  Mars.  But  be  not  over-ambitious, 
lest  your  zeal  be  dampened  by  a  failure.  Where  will  you 
find  materials  for  another  triumph?" 

"  Here,"  answered  the  other,  pointing  to  Neshobee  and 
Zilpah,  who,  for  reasons  best  understood  by  themselves, 
had  also  paired  off  in  a  corner  together.  "  I  have  been 
reading  eyes,  which  are  about  the  only  book  I  ever  read 


THE  GREEK  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  40g 

where  we  are  sure  of  the  truth ;  and  if  those  who  control 
these  persons  should  have  no  objections- w 

"Never  mind  that,  Colonel,  if  you  have  faith  for  the 
trial,"  exclaimed  the  old  Captain,  entering  into  the  full 
spirit  of  the  game. 

"Upon  my  word,  Colonel  Allen,  I  think  you  a  most 
incorrigible  meddler ;  but  you  may  proceed,  for  aught  1 
care,"  said  Miss  Reed,  pouting  most  beautifully. 

"  Ah,  don't  laugh,  ye  wise  ones,  till  you  see,"  said  the 
jovial  matchmaker,  confidently.  "Well,  Miss  Zilpah," 
he  continued,  familiarly  addressing  the  half-blood,  "you 
see  which  way  your  young  mistress  is  about  to  travel — 
now,  as  you  intend  to  follow  her  fortunes,  don't  you 
think  it  would  be  more  pleasant  and  suitable  for  you  to 
have  some  such  brave  and  trusty  companion  on  the  road 
as  Neshobee  here  would  make  you?" 

"Kil"  exclaimed  the  girl,  with  a  blush  which  brought 
her  cheek  to  a  fellow-redness  with  that  of  the  young 
Indian  by  her  side.  "  He !  you  queer  man  I  But  Kesho- 
bee,  he  no  hab  me." 

"Good,"  cried  the  former, "  there  is  a  challenge  for  you, 
my  red  friend.     She  says  you  won't  marry  her ! " 

"UmphI  "  uttered  the  still  grave,  though  evidently 
delighted  native,  "me  never  know  Zilpah  tell  lie 
before." 

"  There !  you  unbelievers,"  exclaimed  Allen,  looking 
round  triumphantly  upon  the  company, "  see  what  a  man 
can  do.    Now  parson,  do  your  duty." 

Reader,  our  story  is  told,  and,  with  a  word  upon  tht 
subsequent  career  of  those  in  whose  destinies  we  trust; 
we  have  been  able  in  some  degree  to  interest  you,  we  will 
bid  you  adieu. 

Of  that  singular,  bold,  rough,  versatile,  yet  honest  and 
strong-minded  man,  Ethan  Allen,  little  more  need  be 
said.  The  remainder  of  his  public  life  was  devoted  to 
the  accomplishment  of  that  object,  for  which  he  had  so 
fearlessly  contended  before  the  Revolution,  the  indepen- 
dence of  his  state.  And  her  history  sufficiently  attests 
to  the  importance  of  his  services. 

The  gallant  young  officers,  after  their  twice  extended 
furloughs  had  expired,  leaving  their  lovely  and  loving 


404  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. 

wives  at  the  cottage  of  Captain  Hendee,  to  cheer  and 
soothe  the  old  veteran  in  his  declining  years,  and,  in  due 
time,  to  render  his  second  childhood  anything  but  com- 

Eanionless,  returned  to  their  posts  in  the  army  in  which, 
onored  and  distinguished,  they  remained,  till  they  had 
witnessed  the  achievement  of  their  country's  indepen- 
dence ;  when  they  retired  to  their  homes  in  the  Green 
Mountains,  to  receive  from  their  fellow-citizens  those  sub- 
stantial memorials  of  their  esteem  which  may  still  be  found 
recorded  among  some  of  the  early  acts  of  the  Legislature 
}f  Vermont,  granting  valuable  tracts  of  land  to  certain 
individuals  for  important  public  services. 

Pete  Jones  and  his  staid  spouse  immediately  repaired 
to  their  little  opening  in  the  woods,  where,  having  re- 
newed his  acquaintance  with  his  rusty  axe,  he  caused  the 
forest  to  melt  away  before  his  powerful  arm,  till  his 
labors  were  rewarded  by  one  of  the  best  farms  on  the 
borders  of  the  lake ;  while  his  wife  became  one  of  the 
most  notable  of  housewives,  having  never  had  cause  to 
regret  her  abrupt  connection  with  the  eccentric,  though 
amiable  woodsman,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  opinions 
she  was  often  heard  to  express  in  favor  of.  long  men  and 
short  courtships. 

Widow  Story  remained  on  her  farm,  cultivating  and 
enlarging  it  with  her  own  hands  for  many  years;  when, 
her  oldest  son,  having  at  length  been  enabled  to  butt  his 
mother,  to  use  a  chopper's  phrase,  that  is,  to  get  off  his 
cut  first,  in  a  trial  of  skill  on  the  same  log,  she  concluded 
'•o  betake  herself  to  household  duties,  giving  up  her  farm 
7ork  to  her  sturdy  little  band  of  foresters,  who,  in  the 
jrocess  of  time,  let  in  the  sun  on  extensive  tracts  of 
iOmc  of  the  finest  lands  on  Otter  Creek. 

Neshobee  and  his  yellow  rib  continued  to  reside  on  the 
*arm  of  Captain  Hendee,  in  a  log  hut  built  expressly  for 
them,  till  the  old  gentleman's  death :  when  they  removed 
to  the  woody  shores  of  the  Horicon,  where  they  spent 
their  days  in  a  ceaseless  warfare  upon  the  beautiful  trout 
of  the  lake,  and  the  deer,  bear,  and  other  wild  animals  of 
its  surrounding  shores. 

And,  lastly,  the  miscreant  Sherwood,  who,  through  the 
inscrutable  ways  of  Providence,  was  permitted  to  live, 
Cain-like,  to  old  age,  found  his  way,  at  the  close  of  the 


THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  405 

Revolution,  to  the  common  refuge  of  American  Tories 
in  Canada,  where  he  finished  his  days  in  poverty  and 
disgrace,  always  obtaining  credit  by  flattery  and  false- 
hood, always  abusing  it  by  fraud  and  treachery,  and 
living,  indeed,  abhorred  by  men,  and  seemingly  accursed 
of  God. 


POPULAR  LITERATURE  FOR  THE  MASSES, 
COMPRISING  CHOJCE  SELECTIONS  FROM  THE 
TREASURES  OF  THE  WORLD'S  KNOWLEDGE, 
ISSUED  IN  A  SUBSTANTIAL  AND  ATTRACTIVE 
CLOTH    BINDING,  AT   A    POPULAR    PRICE 


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Charles   Dickens. 

Christmas    Stories.    Charles    Dickens. 

Cloister  and  the  Hearth.  By  Charles 
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Columbus,  Christopher,  Life  of.  By 
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Companions    of    Jehu,    The.     Dumas. 

Complete   Angler.    Walton  &  Cotton. 

Conduct    of    Life.    R.    W.    Emerson. 

Confessions  of  an  Opium  Eater.  By 
Thomas   de   Quincey. 

Conquest  of  Granada.  By  Washing- 
ton Irving. 

Conquest  of  Mexico,  Vol.  I.  By 
Wm.  H.   Prescott. 

Conquest  of  Mexico.  Vol.  II.  By 
Wm.  H.  Prescott. 

Conquest  of  Peru.  Vol.  I.  By  Wm. 
H.   Presc.ott. 

Conquest  of  Peru.  Vol.  II.  By  Wm. 
H.   Prescott. 

Conspiracy  of  Pontiac.  By  Franci9 
Parkman,    Jr. 

Conspirators,  The.    Dumas. 

Consuelo.       By    George    Sand. 

Cook's  Voyages.   Captain  James  Cook. 

Corinne.      By   Madame   de    Stael. 

Count  of  Monte  Cristo.  Vol.  I.  By 
Alex  Dumas. 


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Countess    de    Charney.    Alex    Dumas. 
Countess   of   Rudolstadt.    Geo.    Sand. 
Country  Doctor.   By  H.   de   Balzac. 
Courtship   of   Miles    Standish.    By  H. 

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Cranford.      By    Mrs.    Gaskell. 
Crockett,  David.    An  autobiography. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  Life  of.     By  Edwin 

Paxton  Hood. 
Crusades,  The.    By  George   W.   Cox. 
Daniel  Deronda.     By  George  Eliot. 
Data  of  Ethics.    By  Herbert  Spencer. 


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David    Copperfield.    Charles   Dickens. 

Days  of  Bruce.   By  Grace  Aguilar. 

Deemster,  The.     By  Hall  Caine. 

Deerslayer,  The.    By  J.   F.   Cooper. 

Descent  of  Man.  By  Charles  Darwin. 

Discourse*  df  Epictetus. 

Divine  Comedy,  The.  (Dante.) 
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Dombey    &    Son.    Charies    Dickens. 

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Donovan.     By   Edna   Lyall. 

Dove  in  the  Eagle's  Nest.  By  Char- 
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Dream  Life.     By  Ik  Marvel. 

Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde.  By  R.  L. 
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Duty.     By  Samuel  Smiles. 

East  Lynne.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood. 

Education.     By  Herbert   Spt-ncer. 

Egoist.      By    George    Meredith. 

Egyptian   Princess.     George    Ebers. 

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zon.     By   Jules   Verne. 

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Elsie  Venner.     By  O.  W.  Holmes. 

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Essays  in  Criticism.  Matthew  Arnold. 

Essays   of   Elia.     By   Charles   Lamb. 

Evangeline.    By    H.    W.    Longfellow. 

Fair  Maid  of  Perth.  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Fairly  Land  of  Science.  By  Arabella 
U.    iJMctley. 


Faust.      (Goethe.) 

Felix   Holt.      By   George    Eliot. 

Fifteen  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World. 

By    E.    S.    Creasy. 
File    No.    113.      By   Emile    Gaboriau. 
First   Principles.     Herbert   Spencer. 
First  Violin.   By  Jessie   Fothergill. 
For  Lilias.     By  Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Forty-Five    Guardsmen.       Dumas. 
Foul   Play.     By   Charles   Reade. 
Fragments  of   Science.  John   Tyndall. 
Franklin,     Benjamin,     Life     of.       An 

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By  Louisa  Muhlback. 
Frederick,    the    Great,    Life    of.      By 

Francis  Kugler. 
French   Revolution.   Thomas  Carlyle. 
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Jules  Verne. 
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Gil  Bias.     A.  R.  Le  Sage. 
Gold  Bug,  The.     Edgar  A.   Po8>> 
Gold  Elsie.     By  E.  MarlTtt. 
Golden  Treasury.   By  T.  Pal  grave. 
Goldsmith's   Poems. 
Grandfather's     Chair.     By     Nathaniel 

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Grant,    Ulysses    S.,    Life    of.      By    J. 

T.   Headley. 
Gray's   Poems.     Thomas   Gray. 
Great  Expectations.     Charles   Dickens 
Greek  Heroes.   Charles  Kingsley. 
Green    Mountain    Boys,   The.      By   D, 

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Grimm's  Household  Tales. 
Grimm's   Popular   Tales. 
Gulliver's  Travels.     By  Dean   Swife. 
Guy   Mannering.      Sir   Walter   Scott. 
Hale,    Nathan,    the    Martryr    Spy.    By 

Charlotte    M.    Holloway. 
Handy    Andy.      By    Samuel    Lover. 
Hannibal,    the    Carthaginian,    Life   of 

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Hardy  Norseman.   By  Edna  Lyall. 
Harold.      By   Bulwer-Lytton. 
Harry    Lorrequer.      Charles    Lever. 
Heart   of   Midlothian.   By   Sir  Walter 

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Yonge. 

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Hereward.     By   Charles   Eingsley. 

Heroes  and  Hero- Worship.  By  Thos. 
Carlyle. 

Hiawatha.   By  H.   W.  Longfellow. 

Hidden  Hand.     By  Mrs.   Southworth. 

History    of    Crime.      Victor    Hugo. 

History  of  Civilization  in  Europe. 
By  M.  Guizot. 

History  of  Our  Own  Times.  Vol.  I. 
By  Justin   McCarthy. 

History  of  Our  Own  Times.  Vol. 
II.     By  Justin   McCarthy. 

Holmes'  Poems.     By  O.  W.  Holmes. 

Holy  Roman  Empire.  James  Bryce. 

Homo    Sum.      By   George    Ebers. 

Hood's  Poems.     By  Thomas  Hood. 

House  of  the  Seven  Gables.  By  Na- 
thaniel   Hawthorne. 

Hunchback  of  Notre  Dame.  By  Victor 
Hugo. 

Hypatia.      By   Charles  Kingsley. 

Iceland  Fisherman.  By  Pierre  Loti. 

Idle  Thoughts  of  an  Idle  Fellow.  By 
Jerome  K.  Jerome. 

Iliad,    The.      Pope's    Translation. 

Inez.     By  Augusta  J.  Evans. 

Ingelow's    Poems.      Jean    Ingelow. 

Intellectual  Life.     P.  G.  Hamerton. 

In   the   Golden   Days.   Edna   Lyall. 

Ishmael.      By    Mrs.    Southworth. 

It  Is  Never  Too  Late  to  Mend.  By 
Charles    Reade. 

Ivanhoe.     By    Sir  Walter    Scott. 

Tane  Eyre.      By   Charlotte   Bronte. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  Life  of.  By  Sam- 
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Keats'  Poems.     By  John  Keats. 

Kenilworth.     By   Sir  Walter   Scott. 

Kidnapped.     By  R.  L.   Stevenson. 

King  Arthur  and  His  Noble  Knights. 
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York.      By    Washington    Irvitig. 

Knight   Errant.      By   Edna   Lyall. 

Koran,   The.     Sales   Translation. 

Lady  of  the  Lake.   By   Sir  W.   Scot*, 

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Lalla  Rookh.     By  Thomas  Moore. 

Lamplighter.      Marie    S.    Cummins. 

Last  Days  of  Pompeii.  By  Bulwer- 
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Les  Miserables.  Vol.  I.  By  Vic- 
tor   Hugo. 

Les  Miserables.  Vol.  II.  By  Vic- 
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Life  of  Christ.     By  F.  W.  Farrar. 
Life    of    Jesus.      By    Earnest    Renan. 
Light    of    Asia.      Sir    Edwin    Arnold. 
Light    That    Failed,    The.      By    Rud- 

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Henry    Ketcham. 
Lincoln's    Speeches.        By    G.    Mercer 

Adam. 

By     M»t- 


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Lucile.      By    Owen    Meredith. 
Macaria.      Augusta   J.    Evans. 

Macauley's      Literary      Essays.        By 

T.    B.    Macauley. 
Magic  Skin.     Honore  de  Balzac. 
Mahomet,       Life       of.         Washington 

Irving. 

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Alexandre  Dumas. 

Marius,  The  Epicurean.  By  Walter 
Pater. 

Marmion.       By    Sir    Walter    Scott. 

Marquis      of      Lossie.  Geo.      Mac- 

dona'd. 

Martin  Chuzzlewit.  Charles  Dickens. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  Life  of. 
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Master  of  Ballantrae,  The.  By  R. 
L.    Stevenson. 

Masterman  Ready.  Capt.  Mar- 
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Meditations    of    Marcus    Aurelius. 

Memoirs  of  a  Physician.  By  Alex- 
andre   Dumas. 

Micah   Clarke.     A.   Conan  Doyle. 

Michael    Strogoff.      Jules   Verne. 

Middlemarch.     By  George  Eliot. 

Midshipman  Easy.  Capt.  Mar- 
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Milton's  Poems.     John   Milton. 

Minister's  Wooing,  The.  By  Har- 
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Monastery.       Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Montaigne's  Essays.  Vol.  I.  By 
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Montaigne's  Essays.  Vol.  II.  By 
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Moonstone,  The.  By  Wilkie  Col- 
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Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse.  By 
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Murders    in    the    Rue    Morgue.       3y 

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P.    C.    Headley. 
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World.        By    Henry    Drummond. 
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Oregon    Trail.      Francis    Parkman. 
Origin     of     Species.         Charles     Dar- 
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Peter,    the    Great,    Life    of.    By   John 

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Pirate,  The.      Sir  Walter  Scott. 

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Plato's    Dialogues. 

Pleasures  of  Life.     Sir  J.  Lubbock. 

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Put    Yourself    in    His    Place.    Charles 

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"2ueen*s    Necklace.      Alex.    Dumas. 
Quentin    Durward.     Walter   Scott. 
Rasselas.      Samuel   Johnson. 
T.edgauntlet.      Sir  Walter   Scott. 
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Representative  Men.   R.  W.   Emerson. 
Republic   of   Plato. 
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Three  Men  in  a  Boat.     Jerome. 

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